President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks.
“The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror,” Bush said in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday. “So today I vetoed it,” Bush said. The bill provides guidelines for intelligence activities for the year and includes the interrogation requirement. It passed the House in December and the Senate last month.
“This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe,” the president said. Read on…
Both Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have issued statements calling Bush’s veto “deeply misguided” and that “the world must know that American doesn’t torture.” But a letter to Bush from 30 retired military admirals and generals says it all:
We believe it is vital to the safety of our men and women in uniform that the United States not sanction the use of interrogation methods it would find unacceptable if inflicted by the enemy against captured Americans…The current situation, in which the military operates under one set of interrogation rules that are public and the CIA operates under a separate, secret set of rules, is unwise and impractical…What sets us apart from our enemies in this fight…is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect.
So the question is, will George W. Bush listen to the generals?
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Fear didn’t keep Hastert’s seat thuglican.
It went dem just a while ago.
On the one hand, Bush refuses to confirm that America uses waterboarding, and then now, on the othe hand, he vetoes a bill which prohibits it. Which is it Dubya? If we don’t waterboard, why veto a bill which outlaws something we don’t do?
Listen to what I say, don’t watch what I do!
Yuh. This is a bill they could have stuck under his nose at any time since “day one”, but it just wasn’t close enough to the election yet. Why isn’t the headline about THAT? And why don’t we have a photoshopped image of Harry and Nancy and Hillary and Barack waterboarding prisoners?
We are a nation of war criminals. Make no mistake, we are responsible for what our government does in our name.
And the answer is (and always was, and always will be) NO. Shrug is a psychopath, pure and simple, and has done untold damage to this country. The people who deny this are either too stupid to understand or too psychopathic themselves to care.
The best thing for people of intelligence and good will to do is to ready themselves for what is to come and do everything we can to survive and rebuild from the ashes that are Shrub’s legacy.
And when I say “ready themselves” I don’t mean carrying signs, commenting on blogs, and writing to their representatives. I do all that and more, and have for years, but it’s become apparent that only the strong and well prepared are likely to live through the next 10 years.
99 @ 4:
You know its always better for the reader if you post something that makes a little sense and has some kind of point. What if the F**K are you talking about?
I hope someone asks St. McCain about this tomorrow!
.
Blind Obtuse Money Kills Like A Gun . . .
Just Quieter…
By Roger Drowne EC - Earth ( RogerART.com )
The Bu$h / Cheney / Rove - USA
Sick government stolen gangsters…
Obtuse Killers…
and buds lie in the shit…
Jolly
Meanwhile on the far side of Turd Blossom Street…
Creative people are Given hidden tools…
Out of the Earth to pry lose truths from the Gods…
To slay the lie-fire smoking muck…
Foaming from the death-dragon’s forked tongue…
Singing their Happy Motto…
They are already Dead a long time ago
It’s time for
The obtuse W one
To go
And
Never play the boss
Of
Hurricanes
War
Or
Sick
Love
Again
Killing
Old and Young
Alike
.
you’re a sadistic man, george bush.
Torture is not for finding terrorists, but for making terrorists out of innocent people!
Would the opposite of vetoing an anti-torture bill be to support a pro-torture bill?
Please, oh please, can I use a tool on bushwacked?
Nice Legacy Building there Dubya! It’s nice to know you will be Remembered for something.
Why couldn’t he have just signed it and then put one of his infamous signing statements at the bottom?
last one in is a rotten egg!!!
href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boM69UkXSzk”>
This whole goddamn administration should be in the Hague!
It is well known that President Bush listens to and follows the advise of his generals, without fail. Given that even David Petraeus has supported this measure, we are left to conclude the obvious: the War on Terror is actually being run by secret generals to which only the President himself is privy. Very sneaky, Mr. Bush, very sneaky indeed.
Your move, terrorists!
As a parting gift I would really like to buy your president a ticket to The Hague…one way of course
99 @ 4:
Your kung-fu is weak.
RayC @ 7:
I believe his or her point is that such a bill, one forbidding “enhanced” interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, should have been one of the first bills to come out of a Democratically controlled congress, rather than something produced 14 months after their having taken office.
A good point too IMHO.
bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb iran
bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb iran
you’ll have them rockin and a-rollin
if 2008 is stolen
bombiran-ran-ran–bomb bomb iran
And he endorses a formerly tortured prisoner of war? Maybe Dubya sees it as a rite of passage. Maybe it’s really good for the combatant to endure torture, and George is just encouraging personal growth! What a jolly good fellow!!
There’s all kinds of pressing shit the Dems have ignored. It’s so bad, there’s no way to keep up. OTOH, when they do get something in front of the chimp, 99 wants a pic of Dems waterboarding someone.
Smart.
i vote that we the American citizens have the right
and should NOW……waterboard bush and cheney
without delay.
We believe it is vital to the safety of our men and women in uniform that the United States not sanction the use of interrogation methods it would find unacceptable if inflicted by the enemy against captured Americans…
As a self confessed Born Again Christian(TM) President Bush naturally doesn’t understand the concept of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Wee Mousie @ 26:
Amen to that!!
[Deleted. dadams, this sort of thing is not appreciated here-Sitemonitor]
Yes, it’s disturbing that these loudmouth “Christians” have no clue about the actual teachings of the actual Christ.
Beatitude-free anti-Jesus freaks.
Sandmont 11 @ 21:
The first thing that should have come out of the House in January 2007 would have been bills of impeachment for Cheney and Bush. Pelosi and Hoyer are as much to blame for this veto as Bush is. Even though it’s very doubtful that the Senate would have convicted either the Pres. or VP, it might just have slowed down or stopped their continuous and expanding grab for power.
impeachcheneythenbush @ 30:
You have your scapegoat.
Had impeachment been filed in January 2007, it would have failed in the Senate by 80 votes in February 2007. And today we would be at war with Iran.
If you don’t have FORTY-SEVEN votes MORE in the Senate, you have ZERO power of conviction. Why don’t you do the math?
Ans: Because scapegoating is SO much easier.
dadams @ 28:
Now that was totally uncalled for!
[Agreed-Sitemonitor]
Yes it is a vital tool for the most cowardly president America has ever had. GWB<!
99 @ 4:
It would not have passed the Congress without the scandal and the press coverage. It would have been rubberstamped NAY, just like when the Republicans ran the Congress in the 109th.
Its no doubt that Bush has not thought this through and vetoed this legislation simply to appear “tough on terror” and nothing more. Realistically, waterboarding may have had some effect in the past but it is less likely to be effective now. In the past, a legitimate terrorist cell leader for example may have known a lot about an attack that his cell was about to carry out. Now, with this knowledge that the Bush Administration fully endorses this method, a real terrorist cell will compartmentalize their operations even further so that no one individual has all of the information.
For example, a member of the cell will only know that his job was to place detonators at a certain place and at a certain time. He will not know what the target is or even if there is one. Nor will he know who is to pick those detonators up or who the other members are of his cell. The CIA could waterboard (or use some other method) all day on that man and that is all they will get. Besides, that man will lie on top of that because he knows he will be tortured anyway and therefore has nothing to lose.
GonzoD @ 17:
Gee that would be great. Except that the U.S. gutted the Hague treaty, and then didn’t sign it anyhow. So the Hague has ZERO power over these clowns.
“America doesn’t torture!”
“America doesn’t waterboard!”
“Well, America waterboarded these three bad guys only… but no more!”
“America doesn’t torture!”
“I’m vetoin’ this bill that bans torture. It’s the most important tool we have!”
Orwell would love it. Decent Americans do not.
Paul in LA @ 36:
Maybe we should reopen Nuremberg!
Joe O. @ 35:
Wow, you think so?
It’s CLEAR he is doing this to bring shame to America, and BREAK INTERNATIONAL TREATY LAW INTO SMITHEREENS, same as he has been doing for six years.
lafin gas @ 38:
We have to defeat Bush in the political wars first.
Paul in LA @ 40:
Agreed!
Remember when George said “It would be a lot easier if this were a dictatorship.”
Notice how easy it’s become?
Shared Humanity @ 5:
That’s utter bullshit. Pity trolling will get you no where. You have to WORK to overcome, not just heap blame on the nation.
I’m at 700 hours of street protest. How much are YOU doing (how well is the total blame justification working to keep you from having to work?).
Not In Our Name.
Geez, Joe@35, I hate it when intelligence and logic get it the way of being a tough Texan “You’re either for us or against us” attitude.
“What sets us apart…” ??? So if we stop waterboarding, they will stop cutting of the heads of innocent civilians?? To think that is not even naive. Just plain stupid and pandering to the radical left wing liberals with the “blame America first” mentality.
I was thinking of opening a bar where instead of a mechanical bull, you have a waterboard.
No need to sign liability waivers as I would already be immune from prosecution.
He’s a sick bastard, a psychopath.
I forgot who I was talking about, Bush, McCain?
Paul in LA @ 36:
I know that. And we all know why the USA didn’t sign the Hague treaty - War Crimes.
You can cut back on the sarcasm anytime.
So amanda, what’s the converse of what you’re saying? That waterboarding prevents beheading??
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
With this veto, Bush has forsaken his oath, which makes him a traitor. That’s a fact, jack.
Hey, if you think about it, aren’t we all immune from prosecution for waterboarding persons in our life we feel are witholding something vital from us? Such as one’s allowance?
I think we should test the law and get some ‘venge at the same time!