Just like that, today in a 78-21 United States Senators voted to ban the military and government agencies from using torture during interrogations of prisoners per CNN.
I guess it is time to get rid of all the water boards because the United States will not be needing them anymore.The only Senators to vote against the amendment were Republicans.
This amendment will expand to the entire government a 2005 law already in place called the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA). The DTA banned the military from engaging in torture. The amendment would also allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to have access to prisoners being held by the United States.
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Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA-D) said:
The amendment was also co-sponsored by “The Maverick” Senator John McCain (AZ-R). He is currently the chairman of the Armed Services Committee and he was a former prisoner of war who is no stranger to torture.Current law already bans torture, as well as cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
McCain said:
I believe past interrogation policies comprised our values, stained our national honor, and did little practical good. This amendment provides greater assurances that never again will the United States follow that dark path of sacrificing our values for short-term security needs.
The opponents to the bill said they do not condone torture but they thought it would be a mistake to require the CIA to follow basic techniques when it came to handling prisoners of war.
One of the opponents was none other than presidential candidate, Senator Lindsey Graham (SC-R). Graham said:
In the War on Terror, it is imperative we have interrogation techniques that are lawful, classified and beyond the Army Field Manual. High-value targets possess valuable intelligence, and we should not limit ourselves to the Army Field Manual, which is published online and was never meant to be the exhaustive, exclusive system governing interrogation.
Two other presidential candidates, Senator Ted Cruz (TX-R) and Senator Rand Paul (KY-R) both voted for the amendment.
Marco Rubio (FL-R), another presidential candidate, as usual was not there for the vote.