You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Home Front: WoT
McCain: US StillTorturing Terrorists
2005-12-08
CA: do NOT put blockquotes into the title bar. That screws our formatting big-time. Please do not do that.
Sen. John McCain claimed Wednesday that the U.S. is still torturing terrorist detainees, even as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits with European leaders to assure them that the practice is banned under U.S. law.

"We've got to stop this torture," McCain told radio host Don Imus. "If you torture somebody, they're going to tell you what they think you want to know in order to make the pain stop," he complained.
Pardon me, Senator, but do you have any proof that this is going on today? I realize it's delicate, I realize that you don't want to reveal classified information, but putting some proof on the table -- something other what comes out of the al-Q training manual -- would be helpful. Everyone's talking about it occurring, but no one's pointing to any current inmate and saying, "him! He got tortured! There are the burn marks, there's where the clips for the electrodes went! See? See!!??!!"
The Republican maverick said the U.S. can't win the propaganda war "if people believe throughout the world that you are practicing cruel, inhuman, degrading mistreatment or torture on the people that you capture."

"Right now," McCain complained, "we have prisons, apparently, set up in different places in the world where we're keeping people for years."

His comments come as Dr. Rice meets with European leaders to assure them that claims about ongoing torture are baseless. "The United States does not condone torture," she told a German audience on Tuesday. "It is against U.S. law to be involved in torture or conspiracy to commit torture. And it is also against U.S. international obligations and the President has made it very clear that U.S. personnel will operate within U.S. law and within our international obligations."

Rice also indicated, however, that interrogations conducted in the foreign prisons referenced by McCain have been productive, telling reporters, "The intelligence we gathered has helped to stop terrorist attacks and saved innocent lives in Europe - as well as in the United States and other countries."
Posted by:Captain America

#16  Man needs to shutup and go away
Posted by: djohn66   2005-12-08 20:41  

#15  McCain's just being a media whore. What is the point of beating this (non)issue into the ground, otherwise?
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2005-12-08 19:48  

#14  Thanks for the big help, Senator. This will be remembered come primary time.
Posted by: eLarson   2005-12-08 19:32  

#13  Does he have any proof? Or is he just jerking off for the cameras again?

Senators know everything....just ask them
Posted by: Frank G   2005-12-08 19:23  

#12  Does he have any proof? Or is he just jerking off for the cameras again?

Besides the terrorists do not deserve Geneva Convention protections! In fact unless we strictly deny them the protections (i.e. by executing them as illegal combatants in the field - and then telling EVERYONE about it and WHY!) there is on incentive for anyone else to follow the GC with our soldiers.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2005-12-08 18:25  

#11  It will have to snow 2' deep on Graceland before I would ever vote for the misguided photo-op junkie McCain.
Posted by: Evil Elvis   2005-12-08 17:29  

#10  I've a theory that McCain will nevery seriously run for president because it would interfere with his ressurektion.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-12-08 17:29  

#9  Torture? I have not heard of dozens and dozens of perps falling out of choppers to feed sharks... What is he talking about?
Oh wait, wrong country. That was some nations way way south of the Rio Grande ... sorry...
Posted by: 3dc   2005-12-08 17:20  

#8  If anything ever convinces me that we need to ban torture it will be John McCain's endless grandstanding. Every time he opens his mouth it's a crime against humanity.
Posted by: Iblis   2005-12-08 17:14  

#7  Victims of crimes are not allowed on Juries of such crimes courts. Mccain was tortured and therefore has no buisness making judgements on torture he is uncontrolably biased an cannot make a reasoned decision.

Torture is a nessacary evil I believe in Geneva Conventions but only if the other side honors them aswell. Torture does work and yes the enemy does of course tell you lies and what you want to hear at first same thing with regular interogation that is the whole idea of a trained Interrogator and comparing notes you take all the info provided and decide what is real and not confirm this and that confront inconsistancy ect.... its part of the process with or without torture Mccain knows this but pushes the half truth to support his biased view from victimhood.
Posted by: C-Low   2005-12-08 16:48  

#6  Article: "If you torture somebody, they're going to tell you what they think you want to know in order to make the pain stop," he complained.

Actually, confessions are checkable. This is why a confession alone will not get someone convicted in court. Torture doesn't mean we suspend our normal investigative procedures whereby things are checked and cross-checked for consistency. And some things can't really be the subject of a false confession. An arms cache is either there or it isn't. An IED is either there or it isn't. If the guy provides a false series of confessions, it will rapidly become clear that he probably doesn't have any more information to give. This doesn't mean he is innocent. These guys were either captured weapons in hand or have incriminating materials on hand.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2005-12-08 16:47  

#5  If you wanna stop torture, Senator, do me a favor and tell Don Anus to hang it up.
Posted by: tu3031   2005-12-08 16:46  

#4  He's a nut. Bet he blows up bigger than Deano Bachi.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-12-08 16:45  

#3  "If you torture somebody, they're going to tell you what they think you want to know in order to make the pain stop," he complained.

I wonder how McCain figured that out...
Posted by: Edward Yee   2005-12-08 16:40  

#2  "We've got to stop this torture," McCain told radio host Don Imus.

and yes, Two dimwits stuck on stupid are is was will always be TORTURE.
Posted by: Red Dog   2005-12-08 16:28  

#1  "If you torture somebody, they're going to tell you what they think you want to know in order to make the pain stop," he complained.

How about you make MY PAIN STOP Senator? Just sit down and shut up, you ain't in charge and hopefully never WILL BE!
Posted by: Besoeker   2005-12-08 16:17  

00:00