Senate votes to restrict treatment of detainees!
Here’s some interesting news from the Senate, please read the whole article here..
Bush rebuffed in 90-9 vote to bar ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading’ treatment (AP
Updated: 11:23 p.m. ET Oct. 5, 2005WASHINGTON – The Republican-controlled Senate voted Wednesday to impose restrictions on the treatment of terrorism suspects, delivering a rare wartime rebuke to President Bush.
Defying the White House, senators voted 90-9 to approve an amendment that would prohibit the use of “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” against anyone in U.S. government custody, regardless of where they are held.
(snip and then this)
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said he was concerned that McCain’s legislation could inadvertently endanger the lives of people who work in classified roles. He said he hoped to fix the potential problems during negotiations with the House.
(my note here: what does this mean, how would this endanger lives of classified operative?)“There are some changes that have to be made if we are going to be faithful to those people who live in the classified world,” Stevens said.
With limits on U.S. interrogation techniques, Stevens said there is a legitimate fear that “custody will go to the other nationalities involved in the team. And we’ll have no control.”
The article then goes on to say:
The White House has said Bush advisers would recommend the president veto the entire bill over the legislation. But a veto is considered highly unlikely given that Bush has never used that power.
Also, scrapping a measure that provides money for pay raises, benefits, equipment and weapons for troops while the country is fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would open the president to a flood of criticism.
As to passing the House the article states the following:
Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, is supporting McCain’s legislation. Murtha could prove a powerful ally when House and Senate negotiators meet to reconcile differences in their bills.
I was watching the Senate session on cspan earlier tonight and the discussion (especially Reid)got quite heated before “this” vote, about the fact that the Reps. were trying to attach an appropriation bill onto the authorization bill for defense spending. Reid argued that this was never done in this manner, although I confess I had a hard time following the procedural rules which ended with a vote on the germaness of the method.
Seems like the Republicans are trying to pull something with the whole Defense Bill, but I am glad they were able to get together to pass the ‘detainees treatment restrictions’ amendment.
