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Will the independence of Kosovo stimulate other disputed countries to ask for their independence? Yes 47.8% No 34.8% Not Sure 17.4% Total Votes: 46

Bush Claims Torture as the Most Valuable Tools in the War on Terror
By Yousef Salama, Staff Writer

Toronto, Canada – The war on terror took an unusual but yet expected turn last month when U.S. President George W. Bush elected to veto legislation that would ban the CIA from using torture tactics such as waterboarding. Rather than reflecting on the immoral, unethical and inhumane implications of vetoing the bill; Bush viewed torture as one of the most valuable tools in his war on terror.

In his weekly radio address Bush stated “This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe.”1 Bush went on to mention that “the CIA must retain use of ‘specialized interrogation procedures’ that the military does not need…We have created alternative procedures to question the most dangerous al-Qaida operatives, particularly those who might have knowledge of attacks on our homeland. If we were to shut down this program and restrict the CIA to methods in the field manual, we could lose vital information from senior al-Qaida terrorists, and that could cost American lives.”

The main issue at stake here involves the CIA use of waterboarding which involves strapping a person down and pouring water over their cloth-covered face to create the sensation of drowning. It has been condemned by nations around the world and human rights organizations as torture.

President Bush’s actions have drawn strong criticisms from democrats and human rights activists around the globe. ‘President Bush’s veto will be one of the most shameful acts of his presidency. Unless Congress overrides the veto, it will go down in history as a flagrant insult to the rule of law and a serious stain on the good name of America in the eyes of the world.”2 Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who adamantly opposed the veto stated “This president had the chance to end the torture debate for good, yet he chose instead to leave the door open to use torture in the future. Bush ignored the advice of 43 retired generals and admirals and 18 national security experts, including former securities of state and national security advisers, who supported the bill. Torture is a black mark against the United States”3

Just last month during a news conference in Mexico City U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour blasted the use of waterboarding “I would have no problems with describing this practice as falling under the prohibition of torture”

Violators of the U.N. Convention against Torture should be prosecuted under the principle of ‘universal jurisdiction’ which allows countries to try accused war criminals from other nations.

Article 1 of the convention states:

“Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”

By allowing the CIA to admit torture on its captives, President Bush has clearly violated Article 1 of the U.N. Convention against Torture and which would thus make him a war criminal if he wasn’t already. However he seems completely and utterly oblivious to any of this. His ignorance to human rights is atrocious to say the least. Rather than acknowledging the inhumanity of his actions he continues to praise and provoke them ‘Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al-Qaeda and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland’4

There is no debate that a nation state must be able to protect itself from an attack on its homeland or its citizens. However, the means in which a states seeks to protect itself must be humane and moral otherwise they it becomes no better than the terrorists attempting to attack it. His attempt to veto this critical piece of legislation further signifies how the character of United States is closely lining up with those of the very enemies it continuously slanders.  

Bush must recognize that he is leading his country down a slippery-slope with enormous recuperations. Already the United States is losing respect around the world and at home for fighting this war, hatred against the US is near all-time highs and most importantly he is putting the lives of his military serviceman in jeopardy and subject to acts of torture beyond anything we can imagine.

The war on terrorism was deemed to eradicate the forces of evil around the world, yet it continually seems to be re-producing them. Today there are more militant fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan defending themselves and their homeland from US occupation. Today nation states once deemed moral and democratic have turned immoral and inhumane. What happened here? Since when do we deem it to be okay to use torture? Since when have we turned a blind eye and let our leaders speak in defence of it? The war on terrorism took a turn for the worse last month. When nations who preach freedom, democracy and human rights begin taking on the role and character of their enemies we all become the victims in the war on terror. We all become scared take deep inside having allowed it happen. Where are protests? Where are the voices? We are all silent; living in a world of fear.  

The following are a handful of reactions to President Bush’s veto. Whatever their words maybe, whatever their title is, they’re actions speak louder then their words. They allowed the Iraq war to happen, they allowed it to continue.

"The president has once again compromised the moral leadership of our nation." -Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D -Nev.

"I am sure that the executive and legislative branches will continue to exchange ideas on the legal framework governing interrogations, including interrogations of the most dangerous international terrorists. Whatever the result, our agency's position is absolutely clear: CIA will continue to operate within the law, strictly abiding by the decisions of the republic we protect." -CIA Director Michael Hayden

"Failing to legally prohibit the use of waterboarding and other harsh torture techniques undermines our nation's moral authority, puts American military and diplomatic personnel at-risk, and undermines the quality of intelligence." -House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"The president's veto sends a message to the world that despite Congress' actions, our country will continue to engage in this inhumane and heinous conduct when we should be affirming unequivocally and in one voice that torture and abuse will stop and never happen again. No one is above the rule of law, including the president." -Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union

"Unless Congress overrides the veto, it will go down in history as a flagrant insult to the rule of law and a serious stain on the good name of America in the eyes of the world." -Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

"I have heard nothing to suggest that information obtained from enhanced interrogation techniques has prevented an imminent terrorist attack. And I have heard nothing that makes me think the information obtained from these techniques could not have been obtained through traditional interrogation methods used by military and law enforcement interrogators." -Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee

"President Bush will go down in history as the torture president. He has now defied a majority of Congress to allow the use of interrogation techniques that any reasonable observer would call torture." -Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch

"I believe that we must reject torture without equivocation because it does not make us safe, it results in unreliable intelligence, it puts our troops at risk, and it contradicts core American values." -Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
Source: Associated Press5

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