Bush Threatens To Veto Bill That Bans Torture

AP:

The House on Thursday approved an intelligence bill that bans the CIA from using waterboarding, mock executions and other harsh interrogation methods.

The 222-199 vote sent the measure to the Senate, which still must act before it can go to President Bush. The White House has threatened a veto.

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[KewlHand]

Operation Phoenix killed a lot of innocent South Vietnamese. They would torture somebody who likely wasn't VC until they would 'confess' and implicate others - often their own family members - who were just as innocent. It was like the Salem Witch 'Trials'. When they had enough names to make them happy they'd kill everybody. Of course, people were so outraged by Phoenix it became a recruiting tool for the VC.

[loki]

I thought McCain passed a bill that banned torture? The one Bush agreed to with McCain and then added his infamous I will ignore the law signing statement to? So why is he worried about this bill? Why does he veto anything when he can just ignore it with a signing statement?
Then again, he doesnt have to with our wonderful Demorats in charge. They will give him what he wants after they put on their little stage show for the voters.

[2warvet]

How does 199 people voting against mean that they condone torture? Maybe they are thinking that there is no need to publish what the intelligence community is allowed to use?

Fear works. It is fear of the unknown for these folks that make them talk. Waterboarding might be the end of the line of interogation, but if the terrorist thinks there will be more after that, they might just decide to talk.

Of course I don't expect the folks posting here to understand that. I am still waiting to see what they think is and acceptable questioning technique.

[lisakaz]

It's ALREADY against the law. What is so mystifying is people supporting it. The justifications for this are appalling. Giving in to Bully Bu$h has ruined this country. I'm sure all the Rethugs wanna blame Clinton or whomever follows Bu$h. They'll take NO responsibility to the decline and fall of America but we've all called it here, trolls.

[NotaBeliever]

Face it, folks. We're no longer the good guys. We installed a fascist as our beloved leader and we get to live with him for another year. We elected people to Congress for the express purpose of controlling him, and he has beat them off at every turn. Chances are we will elect someone JUST LIKE HIM in '08 because the Republicans do not have a problem with what he's doing, and they'll show up on election day to keep Jesus in command.
It is to weep.

[Chavez08]

It's ridiculously naive to be alarmed about this now.

The U.S. has been training in and providing logistical support for torture in South America and Asia for several decades.

When Bush signs that "..Home Grown Terrorist Act" (House Res. - 1955, Senate - 1959), bloggers, peace activists, union organizers, independent journalists will soon find out if Waterboarding is indeed like doing the back-stroke.

So! Any big plans for July 4th??

[KewlHand]

This is how it really works. If Doofus Dubya had gone to Viet Nam maybe he'd know this.

"The problem was, how do you find the people on the blacklist? It's not like you had their address and telephone number. The normal procedure would be to go into a village and just grab someone and say, 'Where's Nguyen so-and-so?' Half the time the people were so afraid they would say anything. Then a Phoenix team would take the informant, put a sandbag over his head, poke out two holes so he could see, put commo wire around his neck like a long leash, and walk him through the village and say, 'When we go by Nguyen's house scratch your head.' Then that night Phoenix would come back, knock on the door, and say, 'April Fool, motherfuck­er.' Whoever answered the door would get wasted. As far as they were concerned whoever answered was a Communist, including family members. Sometimes they'd come back to camp with ears to prove that they killed people."

[ChimpyMcCokespoon]

I want to play too.

Ask me your bullshit "what if you knew..." question that is your justification for legalizing torture.

I have an answer.
Trolling Q. Trollsalot won't like it though.

Go ahead, ask me...

If you've got the guts.....

[getoffmedz]

ANYONE advocating torture has overt criminal tendencies.

[levibatgirl]

rove's next book will say the chickenhawk was vetoing a pro torture bill that Democrats passed.

All the trolls will believe and parrot this.

[gsuescum]

Who are the 199 assh*les who voted against this measure.

Maybe we should torture them until they learn what being an American is supposed to be about.

[icmpn]

WTF, why is it that the ones who condone torture, are the same ones who are religious idiots? coincidence? I think not.

[Bobby]

Let's see...we have two cowards that avoided Vietnam, making the push for torture to be used. Dumbya couldn't even complete his cushy job at the Texas Air National Guard without going AWOL. He also was suspended for not taking a medical exam because he was doing cocaine at the time. Chickenshit Cheney took FIVE deferments to get out of Nam. Meanwhile, these "heroes" want us to be able to use waterboarding and other "techniques" to gain information from prisoners. Didn't the U.S. prosecute the Japanese for waterboarding? Do these "heroes" realize that we will be holding our own troops to the same treatment as prisoners because of this Nazi type thinking. We have slowly becoming a fascist state under the "leadership" of Bu$h and Cheney. They have taken a page from the Nazis and Japanese from WWII. Very ironic, since Dumbya's granddaddy Prescott, invested in and profited from the Hitler war machine. The U.S.A. used to be a beacon of light for the rest of the world in terms of freedom and human rights, but now we have become like our old enemies. By the way, those enemies LOST the war.

[turningpoint]

God's Christmas message to the right:

Stop using me as a political game piece.

Stop torturing and killing in my name.

Stop mocking my son by pretending to follow him.

Stop the hatred that feeds your destructive machinery.

Stop the bigotry, racism, and moral judgment you cast upon everyone who disagrees with you.

Stop lining your pockets with blood money. You needn't pretend to be my friend, I know better.

You do not speak for me.

[LaFeminazi]

If the US has had to lower itself to torture.

Whats the next step, preemptive war?

Oh oops...dam­n war crimes again.

Hiring mercenaries to do our killing for us?

God damn it another fuck up.

How much lower can we set the bar?

Osama Bin Laden could not have hoped for a better outcome.