Stand up to Bush and torture

Over the weekend, George Bush vetoed a bill that would have banned the use of torture by the CIA. He claimed that use of torture had prevented terrorist attacks, and that presidents should have torture as an option. Congress must override that veto.

The Bush-Cheney regime has major credibility problems on this issue. They’ve long claimed that the US doesn’t use torture, but that denial is based on their legal team having re-defined the word in a way that would give the Bush-Cheney regime legal cover in the event any of them were prosecuted for authorising torture—in direct violation of US law and international treaties. The record shows that they’ve authorised torture in the past, and probably still do; they just don’t call it that.

The army bans the same torture techniques that the Bush-Cheney regime wants the CIA to use because they know that such techniques are not only unreliable, they’re also counterproductive. Very often, tortured prisoners will say whatever the torturers want him to, or what he thinks the torturer wants to hear. Common knowledge about the US using torture also makes it more likely for captured Americans to face torture as well, even if only out of retaliation.

The media has been reporting that because the margin of passage was so small, it’s unlikely that Congress will be able to override Bush’s veto. Nevertheless, Congress must try because torture must be outlawed to remove this stain from America’s good name.

But if Congress can’t override, it’ll be handing a campaign advantage to the Democrats. Let members of Congress defend their support for torture, let the Republican Party explain why they think that torture is a good idea, let George Bush defend torture while he’s standing on the same stage with Jon McCain, a victim of “harsh interrogation techniques”, and let McCain defend his party’s enthusiasm for the use of torture. They can’t because torture isn’t just illegal, it’s also wrong.

So is Bush, so are the Republicans in Congress and so is John McCain if he doesn’t repudiate Bush on this issue. It’s time that Congress stood up to Bush, and stood up for what’s right. They must override.