Sen. McCain was interviewed by Katie Couric (gag), watch it here. Around the 4 minute mark this exchange occurred:
Couric – And let me ask you about, I know that you write in your book [?Character Is Destiny?] about being a prisoner of war for five and a half years in Vietnam, and you said that you were not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions because American forces were considered part of an illegal war. You say, ?I was not an enemy pilot and lieutenant commander in the United States navy. I was a criminal, an air pirate, I was less than a dog.”
I know you are trying to get legislation passed regarding torture, or outlawing torture of terrorist suspects in U.S. custody. But the White House seems to be resistant because they want to have more latitude when it comes to a potential plot to kill countless innocent civilians in this country. Can you understand the conundrum they may find themselves in?
McCain – I understand it if I thought that by torturing people that you could gain some meaningful result. Look, Katie, the people in this world that suffer more threats from terrorist attacks and get them every day are the Israelis. The Israeli Supreme Court outlawed torture, outlawed cruel and inhuman treatment, and I?ve talked to Israeli officials, and they say they do very fine without it.
Look at the other side of it. If the United States of America is torturing people, Katie, then its obvious – or treating them in a cruel or inhumane fashion ? then it hurts our image dramatically throughout the world. It isn?t just me: Colin Powell, General Shalikashvili, almost everybody that I know of that is an expert on this kind of thing, it doesn?t work, and it harms our image very badly.
All well and good except he did not mention that the Isreali’s allow sleep deprivation, stress positions, and moderate pressure to interrogate terrorists. These are things the left, and now apparently McCain want to do away with against an enemy who does not want our surrender, but our destruction.
The basic guidelines on interrogation were set by the Landau Commission of Inquiry.
[…]The Commission determined that in dealing with dangerous terrorists who represent a grave threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, the use of a moderate degree of pressure, including physical pressure, in order to obtain crucial information, is unavoidable under certain circumstances. Such circumstances include situations in which information which an interrogator can obtain from the suspect can prevent imminent murder, or where the suspect possesses vital information on a terrorist organization which could not be uncovered by any other source (e.g., locations of arms or explosive caches or planned acts of terrorism).
The Landau Commission recognized the danger posed to the democratic values of the State of Israel should its agents abuse their power by using unnecessary or unduly harsh forms of pressure. As a result, the Commission recommended that psychological forms of pressure be used predominantly and that only “moderate physical pressure” (not unknown in other democratic countries) be sanctioned in limited cases where the degree of anticipated danger is considerable.
Although I respect McCain’s service to our country he should just go over to the other side and be done with it. To think that he wants all forms of interrogation banned except for “please give me the information mr. terrorist” and “pretty please” and finally “with sugar on top”….just idiotic. Putting panties on a guy’s head is “torture” to only the Bush hating liberals. Pahlease.
Man oh man, I hope their is a viable alternative to McCain in 08′.
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Woops….u are so correct, lol. :shuteye_ee: doh.
Again? When did the party nominate him?