In These Times
by Kristian Williams

11/28/05

The national debate on torture reached a new level in October when the Senate voted 90 to nine to restrict Defense Department interrogation techniques and prohibit the 'cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment' of anyone in U.S. custody. The vote came as a major rebuke to President George Bush, who threatened to veto the military spending bill if the proposals were included. Bush responded to the vote by publicly defending the United States’ existing practices. During his Latin American tour in early November, he said, 'We are gathering information about where the terrorists may be hiding. We are trying to disrupt their plots and plans. Anything we do … in this effort, any activity we conduct is within the law. We do not torture.' Yet earlier that very week, Vice President Dick Cheney pleaded with Republican senators in a closed door meeting to exempt the CIA from the cruelty ban. The administration clearly does not like having its bluff called...

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2414/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp