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Tortured Logic
On March 26, 2008, John McCain provided the following interview to a reporter from the JewishJournal (excerpt):
[Interviewer, Rob Eshman]: You spoke out today very eloquently about torture of suspected terrorists and I was wondering if you think it was right or wrong to torture somebody like Khalid Sheik Muhammed, the architect of the 9/11 attacks?
[John McCain]: Of course not.
RE: Even him.
JM: Of course not. No, not even him (laughs).
RE: You know we all watch too much “24.” Maybe that’s the problem.
JM: I think we do…I think, look, Lindsay Graham and I met with a high ranking member of Al Qaeda last Thanksgiving… I asked them how [they recruited members] after the initial invasion [of Iraq]. He said first the lawlessness and (inaudible) gave him a great opportunity. Second he said his greatest recruiting tool was Abu Ghraib. That should be enough evidence for anybody. … Every single military leader that I know and respect says we shouldn’t torture people.
[Back to your humble narrator…]
On the issue of torture, as represented by this excerpt, I agree with John McCain 100%: torture is not only immoral, it is inneffective as a tactic of war. Any information gathered via torture is notoriously poor, and rarely actionable. In the long run, torture only serves to fuel anti-Americanism in the Middle East, and around the world.
This of course brings us to the nasty little law known as the The Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a nutshell:
It authorizes the suspension of habeas corpus for non-citizens, including legal permanent residents, in U.S. custody · It authorizes the President to detain anyone, including U.S. citizens, without charge by designating them enemy combatants or unlawful enemy combatants · It authorizes the President to determine what constitutes torture. · It authorizes the use of evidence obtained by coercion · It authorizes the use of hearsay · It authorizes retroactive immunity for U.S military and intelligence officials for abuses that occurred at sites such as, Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, Bagram and secret CIA facilities. · The definitions of rape and sexual assault are narrower than under international law and have higher thresholds for proof.
So, the natural question is this: being the staunch opponent of torture that he is, how does John McCain feel about the Military Commissions Act of 2006?
From Wikipedia:
Simply put, [the Military Commissions Act of 2006] ensures that we respect our obligations under Geneva, recognizes the President’s constitutional authority to interpret treaties, and brings accountability and transparency to the process of interpretation by ensuring that the executive’s interpretation is made public.
- John McCain, September 28, 2006
Here it is, in black and white, the defining flip-flop of John “straight talk” McCain. Of all the current members of our Federal Government, John McCain should have been the loudest critic of this draconian trash from day one. Per usual, he opted to assist evil instead.
And, while we are on the subject of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.
Hillary Clinton: voted NAY. In the interest of fairness: kudos to the antichrist on that one.
Barack Obama: voted NAY. My nigga- and our future President.
Let’s recap:
Torture = Bad
Military Commissions Act of 2006 = Legalized Torture
McCranky: voted YAY
Hitlery: voted NAY
Obama-rama: voted NAY
That is all.
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