21: Only a flickr of hope remains

Today President Bush vetoed a bill that passed through Congress outlawing several interrogation methods used by the CIA against enemy combatants.

 

These methods include:

 

-Waterboarding

-Beating

-Electrocution

-Burning

-Using dogs

-Denying food, water, or medical attention

-Stripping

-Putting hoods or tape over a person's eyes

-Forcing combatants to mimic or perform sexual acts

 

 

These actions have all been prohibited by the military and are all forbidden in the Army field manual. They are viewed as torture by the global community. The bill vetoed by Bush would have brought the CIA in compliance with the same codes of conduct as the military, who have found that such harsh tactics do not provide reliable results. The fact that Congress passed the bill in and of itself signifies that it received bipartisan support given the Republican Party's ability to put an end to any legislation in the Senate with a filibuster.

 

And yet President Bush is vetoing this bill. Why? Here's his own words.

 

"The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror."

 

"This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe."

 

The general election is only seven months away, but that is still a long way to go. None, NONE, of the major candidates left standing would support this type of conduct by our government.

 

So here's to hope, it may be the only thing we have left as we wait for this era to come to a close.

Done