President Bush did an about face on Thursday and supported the ban on torture introduced in the Senate by Arizona's John McCain. The new law will ban cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign suspects in the war on terror regardless of what American organization holds them.
Bush told reporters that this law will 'make it clear to the world that this government does not torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad.'
McCain, who was himself tortured as a prisoner at the infamous 'Hanoi Hilton' during the Vietnam War, was pleased with the new law. 'It's a done deal,' he said proudly after emerging from his meeting with Bush.
'We've sent a message to the world that the United States is not like the terrorists,' McCain announced as he sat next to Bush in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon. 'We have no brief for them, but what we are is a nation that upholds values and standards of behavior and treatment of all people, no matter how evil or bad they are. And I think this will help us enormously in winning the war for the hearts and minds of people throughout the world in the war on terror.'
The White House had actively opposed the anti-torture bill before changing its position today. In fact, Vice President Cheney personally campaigned against the proposal, claiming it would compromise intelligence gathering and possibly put American lives at risk.
McCain and supporters of the bill questioned the value of information obtained by torturing detainees. Studies have shown that those being tortured will say anything they think their interrogators want to hear to stop their physical pain. Often they simply make things up to stop the torture.
Duncan Hunter (R-California), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee still opposed the new bill, saying he still needed to be assured that there will be 'the same high level of effective intelligence gathering' as under current procedures. Hunter said he will attempt to block the bill from coming to a vote until he receives those assurances.
Allegations of mistreatment and torture have hurt the credibility of the United States in the international community. Incidents at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba and at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq also hurt the United States. President Bush had stated that suspected terrorists did not fall under the guise of the Geneva Conventions which ban the torture of prisoners of war.
If and when the McCain torture ban becomes law, it will lessen the international condemnation of the United States and reduce pressure against the U.S. to comply with the Geneva Conventions.
President Bush has long claimed the United States does not engage in torture. Now, with the passage of the McCain torture ban, the law will at least agree with him.
