Recently, the Senate passed John McCain’s amendment to a defense spending bill that would curtail the abuse and mistreatment of prisoners in US custody. This measure, which passed 90-9, is both powerful and unfortunately necessary given the present Administration’s willful disregard for the Geneva and Torture Conventions, which they have chosen to dance around using empty legalistic rhetoric.
Has President Bush embraced this important bill in an effort to restore American integrity, to show the world that we can admit our mistakes and change course when it is damaging to our national interest and our reputation around the world?
In a word, NO. As a recent Washington Post editorial said, “Let's be clear: Mr. Bush is proposing to use the first veto of his presidency on a defense bill needed to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan so that he can preserve the prerogative to subject detainees to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In effect, he threatens to declare to the world his administration's moral bankruptcy.”
That’s right – he has threatened a veto, and his administration is currently working on pressuring the House to water down this crucial measure before it even reaches the President’s desk, this in spite of the fact that a vast majority of REPUBLICAN senators, along with Democrats, supported it.
This past June, President Bush said, "Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right, and we are committed to building a world where human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law." How can anyone take him seriously on this matter now? Mr. President, actions do indeed speak louder than words.
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