bill is aimed at immunizing "officials for previous violations ...of law"

[rodeodance]

There you have it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/22/AR2006092200507.html

On Rough Treatment, a Rough Accord

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 23, 2006; Page A06

Draft legislation to create a new system of military courts for terrorism suspects would allow prosecutors to introduce at future trials confessions that were obtained through "cruel, unusual, or inhumane" interrogations by the CIA or the military before 2005, but not afterward.


......The 94-page text is dotted with language crafted not only to support future rough interrogations by the CIA but also to improve the odds of obtaining criminal convictions of detainees and to immunize officials for previous violations of a federal law governing detainee abuse. The bill was introduced by Republican leaders in the Senate yesterday after brief discussions with their House counterparts.

......The bill is complex partly because negotiations were rushed, following a timetable set by President Bush. The White House wants Congress to pass the legislation before adjourning at the end of next week, expecting Democrats to withhold challenges to its most controversial provisions in the pre-election period for fear of being portrayed as soft on terrorism.

But the language is also opaque because its chief objective -- the legitimization of irregular interrogations by the CIA -- is a topic shrouded in official secrecy.

"As you know, specific techniques are classified," White House national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley said Thursday evening when he was asked which interrogation techniques the law sanctions. "This whole effort is to get a legal framework supported by the Congress" without letting terrorists know exactly what they will confront after capture, Hadley said. But he added that the draft language meets the CIA's needs.

[rodeodance]

1. they do not expect Dems to object of fear of being soft on terrorism:

.....The bill is complex partly because negotiations were rushed, following a timetable set by President Bush. The White House wants Congress to pass the legislation before adjourning at the end of next week, expecting Democrats to withhold challenges to its most controversial provisions in the pre-election period for fear of being portrayed as soft on terrorism.

[razors edge]

2. Why do I get the feeling the dems will do

exactly as expected by bush adnin.

not even a question, I can see them now, we will review the details after voting on this important legislation and return our recomendations after it is law, or something to that effect.

[acmejack]

5. They have went into hiding, emerging only to condemn the "Thug"

Thank God they engaged That thorny issue. They sure have their priorities straight!

[razors edge]

6. no doubt

[ClintonTyree]

3. Sadly.........

they're probably right. I haven't heard of any rumblings within the Democratic minority that would make me believe they were going to make an issue of it. Gotta' keep that powder dry! ;)

[Yogi]

4. Aren’t they.......

(members of the democratic party) just as guilty as the rethugs by signing on to this. Torture is wrong and they should say so.

[leveymg]

7. If this thing gets passed, it will trigger war crimes prosecutions

See, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/21/125733/035

Urge Your GOP Rep and Senator to "Legalize" Torture
by leveymg
Thu Sep 21, 2006 at 09:57:33 AM PDT
The Republican-controlled Congress is on the verge of passing a Bill authorizing the President to commit war crimes and torture after the fact. A version of that measure passed the House Judiciary Committee last night after a party-line vote. The GOP Bill also abolishes habeas corpus for persons deemed "enemy combatants". See, http://www.dailykos.com/...

For those legislators who voted in favor of such a law, this vote was a virtual invitation to indictment for war crimes the rest of the world is obligated to prosecute under the UN Convention Against Torture.

The best thing Democrats can do is to hand the GOP another length of rope, and stand out of the way after the final party-line vote is counted. When the trap door opens, it'll be every Member of Congress who passed the measure. By their complicity after the fact in war crimes and torture, the GOP Congress may end up swinging alongside Bush and his subordinates down the line. This is the unspoken reason why McCain, John Warner, and Colin Powell don't want this Bill to become law.

MORE below . .

[yurbud]

8. Dumb question: can you retro-actively make something legal?

I suppose I could see not prosecuting someone for rum running after Prohibition was repealed, but this law seems directly aimed at immunizing Bush and his corporate suit nazis.

[rodeodance]

9. I have read conflicting analaysis on it. Many so no, yet the WH will try.