Bush Vetoes Move to Ban Water Torture

Using his veto power, US President Bush put a stop to US congressional plans to limit interrogation methods by the Central Intelligence Agency. The administration claims that any restrictions would tie the hands of CIA interrogators in its fight against Al Qaeda, but legislators worry about the moral standing of the US in the world. "Torture is a black mark against the United States," said California Senator Dianne Feinstein. The controversy reveals divisions throughout the US government, with the army already prohibited from interrogation techniques including use of dogs, nudity or waterboarding. The CIA chief testified before a congressional committee in 2006 that he had already banned techniques like waterboarding. John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee for US president who endured torture as a prisoner of war, opposes torture techniques like waterboarding, but also opposes any public manual detailing CIA practices. For better or worse, interrogators, terrorist suspects and the general public can only imagine details about CIA interrogations. – YaleGlobal