Victory
Semantic victory assured in war on terror. Torture is out. Or something. Compromise again wins the day.
“The agreement that we’ve entered into gives the president the tools he needs to continue to fight the war on terror and bring these evil people to justice,” said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, one of three rebellious GOP lawmakers who told Bush he couldn’t have the legislation the way he initially asked for it.
“There’s no doubt that the integrity and letter and spirit of the Geneva Conventions have been preserved,” McCain said.
Who won the compromise? Sounds like detainees won’t see classified evidence used against them:
Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, said the agreement had two key points. “Classified information will not be shared with the terrorists” tried before the tribunals, he said, according to Bloomberg News. And “the very important program of interrogation continues.”
A closer look: Bush wanted immunity from prosecution for government interrogators? Did he get it with this compromise? It’s great to have laws that clarify what we won’t allow, but if people get immunity for doing what we won’t allow what’s the point?
Victory. Both sides can claim victory.
September 21st, 2006 at 5:02 pm
I am sickened by the word games that are being played in an effort to hide the brutal, sick treatment of so-called terrorists. Why don’t the Bush minions simply re-introduce the measures used during the Spanish Inquisition, perhaps turn them into a public spectacle that could be run on Fox News in prime time?
A country can be judged by the way it treats its detainees. America stands condemned.
September 21st, 2006 at 8:25 pm
I’ve got to hand it to the Democrats. The strategy of allowing the Republicans to “thrash out” their differences on the treatment and prosecution of detainees has played out exactly as planned…for the Republicans. Don’t let anyone convince you that you can go to the well too often…that is if you are a Republican and your opponent is a fully inept Democratic Party.
Amidst a trend of favorable polling data and a firestorm of speeches by the President to refocus the voting public on their fear of terrorism, the Democrats stood in the background for the past two weeks and watched what the GOP will call the difficult work of creating legislation that preserves our commitment to civil liberties while at the same time providing our determined President with the essential tools needed to pursue those who seek to kill us all.
OK, perhaps I’m being too harsh. There is a possibility that in the past two weeks the Democrats were able to devise their sixth iteration of a campaign slogan and strategy to roll out with less than 50 days to the election. Perhaps they could call it “Fifty States, Fifty Days…But Never Fifty Percent”? It’s catchy, it’s succinct, and it may well be accurate come November 8th.
Read more here:
www.thoughttheater.com
September 22nd, 2006 at 9:49 am
Hey!
What happened to your site? Did you get hacked?