The MSM is up in arms that a deal has been worked out between McCain, Warner, Graham and the Bush administration:
Republicans hope that an accord reached between the Bush administration and GOP senators on the treatment of terror-war detainees means the party can go on a campaign-season offensive on the issue of protecting the country.
The deal, if passed next week by Congress as planned, would end an embarrassing two-week stretch of headlines on GOP infighting and allow the United States to go back to full speed on interrogations and permit the president to begin prosecuting terrorists linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
[…]The agreement contains concessions by both sides, though the White House yielded ground on two of the most contentious issues: It agreed to drop one provision that would have narrowly interpreted international standards of prisoner treatment and another allowing defendants to be convicted on evidence they never see.
Instead, the accord explicitly states that the president can “interpret the meaning and application” of the Geneva Convention standards. It also enumerates acts that constitute a war crime, including torture, rape, biological experiments, and cruel and inhuman treatment.
The agreement would grant Congress’ permission for Bush to convene military tribunals to prosecute terrorism suspects, a process the Supreme Court had blocked in June because it had not been authorized by lawmakers.
While the MSM is up in arms McCain being his normal self, gets it all wrong:
“We got what we wanted, and that is the preservation of the Geneva Conventions,” McCain said Friday on NBC’s “Today” show. “There will be no more torture. There will be no more mistreatment of prisoners that violates standards of conduct we would expect of people who work for the United States of America.”
I’m sorry, sleep deprivation or prolonged standing is NOT torture. These people are the worst of the worst who want to destroy this country but we get this whining and crying from our leaders.
While this deal appears to be good news, knowing McCain I am not holding my breath. He will flip-flop as quickly as Kerry so you will have to forgive me if I’m not happy as of yet.
Meanwhile the MSM crys for the comfort of our enemies:
THE GOOD NEWS about the agreement reached yesterday between the Bush administration and Republican senators on the detention, interrogation and trial of accused terrorists is that Congress will not — as President Bush had demanded — pass legislation that formally reinterprets U.S. compliance with the Geneva Conventions. Nor will the Senate explicitly endorse the administration’s use of interrogation techniques that most of the world regards as cruel and inhumane, if not as outright torture. Trials of accused terrorists will be fairer than the commission system outlawed in June by the Supreme Court.
Reinterprets? Um, no….he wanted legislation that INTERPRETED what Art 3 stated. What is so hard for these liberals to understand about this? Why is it a bad thing for a interrogator to know what he can and cannot do. Taking a whip to the scumbag is off limits and that is common sense. But how about sleep deprivation? He wanted our soldiers to be able to know EXACTLY what is allowed and what is not.
You liberals really believe that our enemy would just cough up important intel because a interrogator gives him the evil eye? Or asks pretty please? Come on….please tell me you are not this stupid.
The bad news is that Mr. Bush, as he made clear yesterday, intends to continue using the CIA to secretly detain and abuse certain terrorist suspects. He will do so by issuing his own interpretation of the Geneva Conventions in an executive order and by relying on questionable Justice Department opinions that authorize such practices as exposing prisoners to hypothermia and prolonged sleep deprivation. Under the compromise agreed to yesterday, Congress would recognize his authority to take these steps and prevent prisoners from appealing them to U.S. courts. The bill would also immunize CIA personnel from prosecution for all but the most serious abuses and protect those who in the past violated U.S. law against war crimes.
I really am at a loss for words to describe how disgusted I am with the left in this country. They would rather our citizens and soldiers die rather then subjecting our enemy to sleep deprivation….amazing.
UPDATE
Other’s Blogging:
See author page
Ann Coulter had a good column on this topic this week.
As for me, I would be first in line to agreeing to better treatment for terrorist detainees if it could be showed that we could also get the information to save American lives and if our even MORE benign treatment would also result in better treatment for Americans who fall prisoner to terrorists.
I heard McCain say that waterboarding was specifically banned. It was that aggressive measure which caused Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to cough up the details of the plot to destroy the Library Tower in LA.
How many lefties in LA are alive to curse George W. Bush today that would otherwise have died in that attack if we had not learned about it in time.
And of course we all know that had this attack been succesful, the same lefties who are bleating how how evil our “torture” is would be first in line to ask why Bush didn’t protect them.
Curt, as usual, you hit the nail on the head with this post. I think the big difference here is that President Bush was THINKING BIG! Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions is incredibly vague. What President Bush was pushing for was not a RE-INTERPRETATION but merely a definition. And at the worst, it would have been a STARTING POINT for other countries WHO ARE SIGNATORY to the Geneva Conventions to either agree with or disagree.
Why all the flack about the Geneva Conventions anyway? These barbaric 7th Century cave dwellers that we’re dealing with here are not only NOT SIGNATORY to the Geneva Conventions, I doubt they could even understand them.
McCain blows smoke about how “redefining” the Geneva Conventions may “endanger” our troops. Well, Senator, point out to me ONE INSTANCE where al Qaeda showed any of our troops mercy because we were signatory to the Geneva Conventions.
As usual, you’ll come up SHORT!