smooth move, ex-lax
by John at 10/06/2004 10:13:00 AM
Bush flip-flops on his support of rendering terrorism suspects / enemy combatants to foreign governments for "interrogation" (pronounced "tor-chur").
In a letter published in The Washington Post, White House legal counsel Alberto Gonzales said the president "did not propose and does not support" a provision to the House bill that removes legal protections from suspects preventing their "rendering" to foreign governments known to torture prisoners. Gonzales said Bush "has made clear that the United States stands against and will not tolerate torture."
But John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who introduced the bill last Friday, said the provision had actually been requested by the Department of Homeland Security. "For whatever reason," Feehery said, "the White House has decided they don’t want to take this on because they’re afraid of the political implications."
At least the White House is on the right side, even if it's for the wrong reasons.
In a letter published in The Washington Post, White House legal counsel Alberto Gonzales said the president "did not propose and does not support" a provision to the House bill that removes legal protections from suspects preventing their "rendering" to foreign governments known to torture prisoners. Gonzales said Bush "has made clear that the United States stands against and will not tolerate torture."
But John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who introduced the bill last Friday, said the provision had actually been requested by the Department of Homeland Security. "For whatever reason," Feehery said, "the White House has decided they don’t want to take this on because they’re afraid of the political implications."
At least the White House is on the right side, even if it's for the wrong reasons.
I don't get it. We can't detain them, we can't send them back to where they came from. Our only option is to release them among American citizens?
P.S. - It's not a flip-flop when all of your options are being taken away from you.
I don't get it. We can't detain them, we can't send them back to where they came from. Our only option is to release them among American citizens?
P.S. - It's not a flip-flop when all of your options are being taken away from you.Option 3: you can give them some kind of trial (SCOTUS wasn't very specific what kind of trial was necessary)
Option 4: you can send them to a country where they are not in danger of torture (this is actually already part of U.S. law)
It is a flip-flop because Homeland Security (run by the White House) was for the provision on "rendering" in the House intelligence reform bill and now they are not, for purely political reasons (according to Hastert's spokesman).
I got it. Send them to France!
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