While the race in Wyoming between Obama and Hillary adds to the excitement of the 2008 election, and Bill Foster takes on Jim Oberweis to reclaim IL-14 for the Democratic party in Congress, it is a sad day over at the White House. Now Bush may not be in a glum mood, but the American ethic, the people and our reputation around the world will truly suffer as George vetoes a bill that would have banned torture.
From The Huffington Post:
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Bush will veto legislation on Saturday that would have barred the CIA from using waterboarding _ a technique that simulates drowning _ and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects.
Bush has said the bill would harm the government's ability to prevent future attacks. Supporters of the legislation argue that it preserves the United States' right to collect critical intelligence while boosting the country's moral standing abroad.
"The bill would take away one of the most valuable tools on the war on terror, the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives," deputy White House press secretary Tony Fratto said Friday.
The bill would restrict the CIA to using only the 19 interrogation techniques listed in the Army field manual.
Those 19 techniques have unearth scores of secrets and won over many of our adversaries in the past. Way back in World War II, interrogators knew that torturing their captives never provided truthful or useful information. All that does is produce what the victim perceives the torturer wants to hear.
I think that this is quite indicative of our President. He only sees and hears what he wants to, discarding the truth when he sees fit. You can't fit much of the truth in if the glass you are looking through is as narrow as the Presidential red plastic viewfinder.
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