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Stand against prisoner abuse

Another prisoner abuse scandal is coming to light that has all the earmarks of another Abu Ghraib. A captain in the 82nd Airborne stationed in Iraq claims that detainees at his base near Fallujah were routinely beaten, tortured and mistreated. If true, the American military's reputation will have suffered another blow and our troops will be in more danger.

Our national interest is directly implicated in having the world, and Iraq in particular, trust that our nation is committed to the humane treatment of prisoners. But President Bush doesn't see it that way. He is blocking an effort by Republican leaders in Congress that would protect detainees from abuse.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wants to include two amendments in the 2006 Pentagon spending bill. One would direct the military to conduct all prisoner interrogations according to the Army Field Manual, which adopts the standards of the Geneva Conventions. The other amendment says no individual in U.S. custody shall be subject to "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment." This language would apply beyond the military and rein in the behavior of civilian interrogators and the CIA.

McCain, a former POW in Vietnam who survived beatings and torture in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, is supported by two fellow Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman John Warner of Virginia and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a former military lawyer. But the last time McCain attempted to add these amendments, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist pulled the entire spending bill from consideration and Vice President Dick Cheney lobbied against the amendments.

If the president were as concerned as he suggests with the treatment of detainees, McCain's amendments would present no problems. But it is clear that our president wants the option to use harsh methods of interrogation. Why else would nearly everyone with fingerprints on the now repudiated Justice Department memo justifying the use of torture have been rewarded with a promotion?

When the authorization bill is revisited, maybe as early as next week, McCain will propose the amendments again. We hope that Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez will stand with him. America's moral authority is being eroded by continuing revelations of prisoner abuse. Clear and unequivocal instructions are needed that no mistreatment will be tolerated. If the president won't do it, then Congress should.

[Last modified October 6, 2005, 01:14:18]