"No individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment."
~ Senate Amendment 1977
Nine Republican members of the U.S. Senate have spoken: let the torture continue.
On October 5, the Senate voted on an amendment (S.AMDT.1977) to the 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations Act that would have prohibited the use of not only torture, but also the cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of anyone in the custody of the U.S. government.
The amendment was introduced by Senator John McCain (R-AZ), and had eleven co-sponsors: Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Carl Levin (D-MI), John Warner (R-VA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Gordon Smith (R-OR), and John Sununu (R-NH).
The vote was 90-9.
Being amended was the massive H.R. 2863, which appropriates billions of dollars for the Defense Department for fiscal year 2006. This bill was introduced in the House on June 10. It passed in the House by a vote of 398-19 on June 20. Two principled Republicans voted against the bill: Ron Paul (R-TX) and John Duncan (R-TN). The bill went to the Senate on September 28, and passed by a vote of 97-0 on October 7. The bill is now in a Conference Committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions before it is sent to the president.
Among the amendments added to the bill by the Senate was the one by McCain.
This amendment would do two things: one, establish the Army Field Manual as the uniform standard for the interrogation of Department of Defense detainees; and, two, prohibit cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment of prisoners in the detention of the Government. It is pretty simple and straightforward.
McCain even explained how "abuse of prisoners harms, not helps, in the war on terror":
First, subjecting prisoners to abuse leads to bad intelligence, because under torture, a detainee will tell his interrogator anything to make the pain stop.
Second, mistreatment of our prisoners endangers U.S. troops who might be captured by the enemy – if not in this war, then in the next.
And third, prisoner abuses exact on us a terrible toll in the war of ideas, because inevitably these abuses become public. When they do, the cruel actions of a few darken the reputation of our country in the eyes of millions.
McCain also introduced a letter signed by twenty-nine high-ranking retired military officers expressing their support for his amendment.
So, who are the Republican torture masters that voted against McCain’s amendment?
Since these senators will never resign in disgrace like they should, every Republican in these states should vote them out of office when they come up for reelection. Even Republicans who believe in Bush’s "war on terror" should join in defeating these Republican senators.
Of course, just because a senator voted "yes" on McCain’s amendment does not mean that he is against the United States going to war in Iraq. Torture or no torture – any member of the Senate or House who continues to fund this war should be voted out of office as well. But the amendment is a welcome sight nevertheless.
[I also might add that anyone who has read any of my articles about the government or the Congress knows that I am in no way endorsing John McCain. I have nothing but contempt for members of Congress – Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) being the only exception.]
Laurence M. Vance is a freelance writer and an adjunct instructor in accounting and economics at Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola, FL. His new book is Christianity and War and Other Essays Against the Warfare State. Visit his website.