Is This Why We Support "Our Troops"?

Yet another reason for the US citizen to hang their head in shame. That is, if they were even paying attention. Did Cindy Sheehan's son and so many other sons and daughters die to defend this sort of disgusting arrogance?

Once again, thanks to the Signs Team for bringing this to the blosphere. G-d knows we'd never hear it on CNBC or FOX.

Blue Ibis

U.S.: License to Abuse Would Put CIA Above the Law

Source: Human Rights Watch
26 Oct 2005

(New York, October 26, 2005) – The Bush administration is now the only government in the world to claim a legal justification for mistreating prisoners during interrogations, Human Rights Watch said today. The administration recently approached members of the U.S. Congress to seek a waiver that would allow the CIA to use cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment on detainees in U.S. custody outside the United States.

While many other governments practice torture and other forms of mistreatment and have records of abuse far worse than the United States, no other government currently claims that such abuse is legally permissible, Human Rights Watch said.

"The administration is setting a dangerous example for the world when it claims that spy agencies are above the law," said Tom Malinowski, Washington director of Human Rights Watch. "Congress should reject this proposal outright. Otherwise, the United States will have no standing to demand humane treatment if an American falls into the hands of foreign intelligence services."

Earlier this month, in a 90-9 vote, the U.S. Senate approved a measure sponsored by Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham that would prohibit the military and CIA from using "cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment" in the case of any detainee, anywhere in the world.

But last week, Vice President Dick Cheney and CIA director Porter Goss met with Sen. McCain to propose a presidential waiver for the proposed legislation. The proposed waiver states that the measure "shall not apply with respect to clandestine counterterrorism operations conducted abroad, with respect to terrorists who are not citizens of the United States, that are carried out by an element of the United States government other than the Department of Defense." [...]

CIA
Human Rights
Torture
Senator McCain
Cindy Sheehan
Fascism
Terrorism