McCain praises terrorism detainee deal

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14950788/from/RS.1/

McCain praises terrorism detainee deal
Republicans hope agreement will quell infighting ahead of elections

WASHINGTON - The rift among Republicans over the treatment of terrorism detainees appears to have closed, with maverick GOP Sen. John McCain telling NBC News on Friday that a deal reached with President Bush will lead to fair trials and interrogations but not torture.

“We got what we wanted, and that is the preservation of the Geneva Conventions,” McCain, an Arizona Republican, said on NBC’s “Today” show. “There will be no more torture. There will be no more mistreatment of prisoners that would violate standards of conduct we would expect of people who work for the United States of America.”

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 president to begin prosecuting terrorists linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“I’m pleased to say that this agreement preserves the single most potent tool we have in protecting America and foiling terrorist attacks,” the president said Thursday after agreement was announced on one of his top remaining priorities of the year.

[liberal N proud]

1. The man who who experienced torture now endorses it

This is the one man who could have had the balls to stand up and say, I know what this does to the person and stop it. But now he gives it a green light.

FUCK YOU JOHN MCCAIN, once again you have exposed yourself for what you really are, yellow bellied republican scum

[Child_Of_Isis]

7. It was all a show folks.

And in the long run, it gave shrub the go ahead. Which was the idea in the first place. This republican "infighting" is nothing but good cop, bad cop.

[classysassy]

18. John McCain

and all of the republican asshats,are nothing but shills for bushco.

[saigon68]

20. McCain need to go back to the Hanoi Hilton for a refresher course

He obviously needs his testicles Crushed again.

[DoYouEverWonder]

25. I bet he didn't have it so bad in there

especially when you're willing to suck without being proded.

[TAPat]

2. Oh, Bull Senator *Maverick* McCain!

Yeah, that's just great that the prez gets to interpret the Geneva Conventions - Gee, how do you think he's going to interpret them? Humane Treatment = Torture?

Same shit, different day. :grr:

edit to add: Maverick MY ASS!

[silvermachine]

28. My sentiments exactly

It really roils me to see McCain draped in the mantle of being a so-called maverick. He is anything but. Craven (or substitute "cave-in" if you wish) whore would be closer to the truth...

[bullimiami]

3. no more torture is admitting there was torture and that is a crime.

so mccain doesnt care about war crimes already committed?

[knowbody0]

5. "more" is the operative word

What a schmuck!

[Supersedeas]

21. M O R E - more - M O R E - more - M O R E: no more for now YET

the President says he program is intact. Hmmmm

[filer]

8. Point well taken.

Let bygones be bygones.

[Solly Mack]

4. What a crock of shit. Redefining what constitutes torture

does not end torture

Changing the provisions of the War Crimes Act of 1996 does not end torture

Allowing Bush to define what constitutes lesser grave breaches does not stop torture

And then he goes and says, :“There will be no more torture"

but what about holding the guilty responsible?

McCain's a piece of shit...

[wtmusic]

6. Anyone have a link to the text of the bill? nt

[gratuitous]

9. What do they expect McCain to say?

"Oh yeah, I got rolled, but my advisors say it gives me great cover for my right flank when I run for president in 2008. A lot of our soldiers are going to be tortured and die horrible deaths, but what is that compared to winning the 2008 South Carolina primary? Priorities, folks."

[SharonAnn]

11. He said "It's not about who THEY are. It's about who WE are." Of course,

that was a couple of years ago.

I don't often agree with him, but I still think that's the basic statement:

"It's not about who THEY are. It's about who WE are."

[fasttense]

10. McCain must have liked the torture and has recommended it for

others. Why else would he support it? :shrug:

[DoYouEverWonder]

26. Some people like S&M

Go figure?

[kurth]

12. It's a new and improved rubberstamp

But still a rubberstamp.

[BootinUp]

13. a Flubberstamp? n/t

[VegasWolf]

14. Screw McCain and the waterboard he surfed in on. If McCain does

not have the courage of his convictions on torture after his personal experience, then this clown is a slime, a slug, a travesty of an ameoba, he is in short the lowest form of life on the planet because he cares not for the future McCains that are captured. He only wants those Bush hugs and kisses.

[Matariki]

15. They must have this man by the balls on something

Photos at a washington sex party? Drugs? threats to recreate his Vietnam experience? What???

[stepnw1f]

16. Sick Lying Bastard... welcome to Nazi America! (nt)

[DinahMoeHum]

17. Dear McCain: It's sad, believe me missy, when you just got played

for a sissy.

:evilfrown:

"Maverick" my ass.

:evilfrown:

[Efilroft Sul]

19. It's like what John Stewart said.

"The Straight-Talk Express took a detour through Bullshitville."

[grahamhgreen]

22. The proposal would make the core protections of Common Article 3 of the Ge

GOOD SUMMARY -

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20060922/cm_thenation/15123781

The Nation Fri Sep 22, 10:22 AM ET

The Nation -- Democrats chose to outsource their policy on military tribunals to John McCain. And McCain did what he's done best the last year: capitulate to Bush.
ADVERTISEMENT
click here

"Senators Snatch Defeat From Jaws of Victory: US to be First Nation to Authorize Violations of Geneva," Georgetown University law professor Marty Lederman writes of the so-called "compromise" between Senators McCain/Graham/Warner and
President Bush.

Says Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU's Washington legislative office:

"The proposal would make the core protections of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions irrelevant and unenforceable. It deliberately provides a 'get out of jail free card' to the administration's top torture officials, and backdates that card nine years.

"Also under the proposal, the president would have the authority to declare what is - and what is not - a grave breach of the War Crimes Act, making the president his own judge and jury. This provision would give him unilateral authority to declare certain torture and abuse legal and sound. In a telling move, during a call with reporters today, National Security Advisor
Stephen Hadley would not even answer a question about whether waterboarding would be permitted under the agreement.

"The agreement would also violate time-honored American due process standards by permitting the use of evidence coerced through cruel and abusive treatment. We urge lawmakers to stand firm in their commitment to American values and reject this charade of a compromise."

Adds the Washington Post editorial page:

"In effect, the agreement means that US violations of international human rights law can continue as long as Mr. Bush is president, with Congress's tacit assent."

In the end, McCain got loads of admiring press coverage. And Bush got almost everything he wanted.

[Blasphemer]

23. Wow... some compromise...

It's time for the Dems to show some guts, vote against this thing and expose McCain for the hypocrite and coward that he is.

[Kolesar]

29. This is a setup to dare the Dems to oppose a terror issue in the mid-terms

The flying monkeys of the republicans and the media will come tearing after the Democrats if they object to this "compromise".

[xxqqqzme]

24. Wow, corporate media is putting

big bucks on mccain - that rascally, maverick! - being the gop nominee in '08. They just love that maverick senator!

[Generator]

27. Yeah that's what I fear

McCain would sell out anyone's right to not have their nuts squeezed to get the top spot. And I just love what McCain says! It's all absolute lies. It's so slimy I have to take a bath. This dude is starting to scare me worse than Bush. Imagine a competent fascist in 2008, hey I coined a slogan for him!

[warrens]

30. I just sent him an email

How this guy can make such a fool of himself over the Bushies, I will never know. I wouldn't vote for him, but he's 10 times the man any of them are. I can't believe he caved like this.

[Disturbed]

31. McLame is shameless.

This pathetic man would crawl a mile in raw manure to become the next Glorious Leader of Amerika.