McCain Leads Cowardly Republicans in Idiot Vote

Senate Approves Detainee Treatment Rules
by LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Senate faces a confrontation with the House over a $440 billion military spending bill that, despite White House opposition, would impose restrictions on the treatment of terrorism suspects.

Delivering a rare wartime slap at Pentagon authority and President Bush, the GOP-controlled Senate voted 90-9 on Wednesday to back 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.

Sponsored by Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., the proposal also would require all service members to follow procedures in the Army Field Manual when they detain and interrogate terrorism suspects.

"This amendment strives to establish uniform standards for the interrogation of prisoners and detainees as a means for helping ensure our service men and women are well trained, well briefed, knowledgeable of their legal, professional and moral duties and obligations," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

The Senate was expected to vote on the overall spending bill by week's end. The House-approved version of it does not include the detainee provision. It is unclear how much support the measure has in the GOP-run House.

However, Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, who supports the measure, could prove a powerful ally when House and Senate negotiators meet to reconcile differences in their bills.

And the House could face immense pressure after such a mandate by the Senate. All but nine Republicans voted in favor of the legislation.

Sen. Ted Stevens (news, bio, voting record), R-Alaska, said he was concerned that McCain's legislation could inadvertently endanger the lives of people who work in classified roles, and he hoped to fix the potential problems in the final bill.

John McCain is a fool. His concerns about how American prisoners of war might be treated by their captors would be understandable, if anyone besides people in Western cultures abided by the Geneva Convention Restrictions. Evil people don't abide by the rules, never have, never will. How we treat non-combatants or POWs has no effect on how Americans will be treated. As a former POW in North Vietnam, McCain knows this (or should) better than anyone. None of the treatment he received during his imprisonment was in accordance with the Convention rules. These restrictions merely endanger the lives of American soldiers by crippling our ability to obtain intelligence. Remember, we're not discussing torture here, merely mistreatment.

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