Beachmom: Sen. Kerry's LTTE to WSJ today (9/14/06)

[TayTay]

Letters to the Editor: Insure CIA Agents Against A Reckless Administration

The Wall Street Journal

Your Sept. 12 editorial “Jack Bauer Insurance” was a disservice not to me or to fictional characters like Jack Bauer, but to the very real CIA agents whose commitment to the truth didn’t fit the administration’s neoconservative agenda on Iraq, and to agents endangered by reckless administration policies.

It’s been reported that CIA officers refused to be trained in the administration’s controversial interrogation techniques, and in at least one instance these techniques yielded questionable information aimed at pleasing the interrogators. The Supreme Court, not Democrats, ruled administration detainee policies out of bounds, and it was the outrage of Republican senators that forced the administration to apply the Geneva Convention to enemy prisoners in order to best protect captured Americans.

...... go to web site to read more.

Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.)
Boston

more at: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008939



This was in response to this editorial: http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008930

[beachmom]

1. Excellent, Senator! (Boy has he been busy)

I'm glad he brought up the point that the "techniques" yield bad information. Since so many Americans seem to have no moral qualms about torture (sad, indeed), a good argument is that it is unreliable.

Oh wait -- is he talking about McCain, et al here?

The Supreme Court, not Democrats, ruled administration detainee policies out of bounds, and it was the outrage of Republican senators that forced the administration to apply the Geneva Convention to enemy prisoners in order to best protect captured Americans.



Look, if I haven't been that clear, I KNOW Kerry is against torture, but everything I have read says that the McCain/Warner/Graham version of the bill does NOT fix the torture language. It still provides loopholes for torture. It goes AGAINST the Geneva Conventions. This is really a narrow issue, and perhaps there are legal experts out there who think it is sufficient. Does Sen. Kerry know that many experts think the bill -- Bush's AND McCain's -- allow for torture? Because I get the feeling that is NOT his opinion here.

[TayTay]

2. Mui complicated

There is a Specter bill and a Feinstein/Specter bill. The later is much better than the former. This is a confusing argument because versions of this bill are floating around.

The Senate takes this up on the floor this afternoon, btw. Stay tuned.

[beachmom]

3. That's what I just said on the other thread

I'm going to wait until I hear remarks on the Senate floor. And you're right that with so many versions of this bill, it's just making me go loopy.

[karynnj]

4. He's speaking in past tense "was"

in reference to applying the Geneva Convention. That is Bush's recent action - that he Bush is still trying to alter the rules is not addressed. I don't read it as approving (then) future actions of the Republican Senators.

Many people are screaming that NO Democrats are speaking out - this is at least the 5th or 6th time Kerry has strongly raised the issue.

[ProSense]

5. Great smack down! n/t