Of course we don't torture people

Dear old Dubya has repeatedly stated that he was going to veto any bills coming to his desk with amendments on them (such as the recent John McCain sponsored amendment on the budget bill) which would limit the treatment of detainees in the "war on terror." Not because we're torturing anyone, of course. Perish the thought! But because they are "not needed" since we're not torturing anybody anyway, right?

Then why are you and Darth Cheney asking for an exemption for the CIA on the amendment, and for exemptions for non-Americans not held on American soil?

Stepping up a confrontation with the Senate over the handling of detainees, the White House is insisting that the Central Intelligence Agency be exempted from a proposed ban on abusive treatment of suspected Qaeda militants and other terrorists.

The Senate defied a presidential veto threat nearly three weeks ago and approved, 90 to 9, an amendment to a $440 billion military spending bill that would ban the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of any detainee held by the United States government. This could bar some techniques that the C.I.A. has used in some interrogations overseas.

But in a 45-minute meeting last Thursday, Vice President Dick Cheney, and the C.I.A. director, Porter J. Goss, urged Senator McCain ... to support an exemption for the agency, arguing that the president needed maximum flexibility in dealing with the global war on terrorism, said two government officials who were briefed on the meeting. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the discussions.

Hello? Is this on? Wake up, sheeple. They keep on denying that they are torturing anyone, but they have to argue for an exemption? Please. Pull the other one... it's got bells on it.

Fortunately, McCain wasn't buying any of the koolaid this week.

Mr. McCain rejected the proposed exemption, which stated that the measure "shall not apply with respect to clandestine counterterrorism operations conducted abroad, with respect to terrorists who are not citizens of the United States, that are carried out by an element of the United States government other than the Department of Defense and are consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and treaties to which the United States is a party, if the president determines that such operations are vital to the protection of the United States or its citizens from terrorist attack."

Even if he's only doing it because he's planning another run at the White House and is trying to get as far as possible from the sinking H.M.S. Bush, I'm still glad to see McCain stepping up and trying to do the right thing. Of course, none of this means that Bush and his minions won't just ignore the order and keep right on doing what they're doing when nobody's looking, but it's at least the thought that counts.