Top Cop Says McCain Was Never Tortured

[WayWord]

*pulls string*

John McCain knows what it's like to be tortured, so he would never support the torture of our enemies.

Maverick Fails The Test: McCain Votes Against Waterboarding Ban

Think Progress
Thursday February 14, 2008

Today, the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill to the floor, which contained a provision from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) establishing one interrogation standard across the government. The bill requires the intelligence community to abide by the same standards as articulated in the Army Field Manual and bans waterboarding.

Just hours ago, the Senate voted in favor of the bill, 51-45.

Earlier today, ThinkProgress noted that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a former prisoner of war, has spoken strongly in favor of implementing the Army Field Manual standard. When confronted today with the decision of whether to stick with his conscience or cave to the right wing, McCain chose to ditch his principles and instead vote to preserve waterboarding:

Mr. McCain, a former prisoner of war, has consistently voiced opposition to waterboarding and other methods that critics say is a form torture. But the Republicans, confident of a White House veto, did not mount the challenge. Mr. McCain voted “no” on Wednesday afternoon.

The New York Times Times notes that “the White House has long said Mr. Bush will veto the bill, saying it ‘would prevent the president from taking the lawful actions necessary to protect Americans from attack in wartime.’”

After Bush vetoes the bill, McCain will again be confronted with a vote to either stand with President Bush or stand against torture. He indicated with his vote today where he will come down on that issue.

John McCain: He was against waterboarding before he was for it.

from www.prisonplanet.com

Senate Passes Interrogation Ban

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: February 13, 2008

...Senate Democrats, sensing an opportunity to highlight a policy dispute between the White House and Senator John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, had been hoping that Republicans would make a procedural challenge to the provision on interrogation methods.

Mr. McCain, a former prisoner of war, has consistently voiced opposition to waterboarding and other methods that critics say is a form torture. But the Republicans, confident of a White House veto, did not mount the challenge. Mr. McCain voted “no” on Wednesday afternoon.

from The New York Times

The Senate interrogation ban: Roll call vote

Clinton and Obama didn't vote on this bill, the snakes.

 

[WayWord]

bump

 

[TheNewWorldMan]

Perhaps McCain perceives a moral difference in using some borderline techniques to extract information from terrorists with knowledge of imminent/planned attacks, versus outright torture for the sake of simple sadism (which is what the Vietcong did to him).

 

[WayWord]

Perhaps McCain perceives a moral difference in using some borderline techniques to extract information from terrorists with knowledge of imminent/planned attacks, versus outright torture for the sake of simple sadism (which is what the Vietcong did to him).

Waterboarding is not borderline. It's torture. Making someone believe you are about to drown him or her is torture. Didn't you ever have an older brother hold you under water in the pool until you thought you were going to die?

 

[Yusuf Evans]

Election time is here, and the mudslinging begins. Free speech is sometimes a bad thing, particularly for politicians. I'm voting for McCain, I just can't believe they would beging to stoop to this level.

 

[JohnElias]

So? The Republican political machine is good at smearing veterans. They did it to McCain, they did it to Kerry. The dig up a bunch of false accusations, find some faces to attach it to, and cucina presto, you've got a fiasco.

For the party that supports our troops - they seem to hate our veterans.

 

[quantumspirit]

Until there really is a breakthrough here, I will hold that McCain was tortured, and respect him as a person and a veteran. I disagree with his policies and rhetoric, and that is the reason I will not vote for him.

 

[WayWord]

So? The Republican political machine is good at smearing veterans. They did it to McCain, they did it to Kerry. The dig up a bunch of false accusations, find some faces to attach it to, and cucina presto, you've got a fiasco.

For the party that supports our troops - they seem to hate our veterans.

Bush seemed to get away with going AWOL from the Air National Guard.