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Sunday, March 9, 2008

McCain supports Bush veto of bill

banning harsh interrogation tactics
Doesn't want CIA limited to methods used by military
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

When President Bush vetoed legislation Saturday that would have prohibited the CIA
from using physical force in interrogations, he had the support of Sen. John McCain -
the most outspoken of any presidential candidate in his opposition to torture.
The Arizona Republican has described his own torture by the North Vietnamese, who
captured him in 1967 after his plane was shot down on a bombing run. He spoke out
against the near-drowning technique called waterboarding when it was being
defended by other Republican candidates and by Vice President Dick Cheney.
And McCain won the signature of a reluctant Bush on 2005 legislation that prohibited
military interrogators from using waterboarding and other "cruel, inhumane or
degrading" methods.
On Saturday, however, McCain backed Bush's veto of a bill that would have barred
the CIA from employing those same techniques - or any others not authorized by the
Army Field Manual - when questioning prisoners.
In a Saturday morning radio address announcing the veto, Bush said the measure
would have barred "safe and lawful" interrogation methods that have prevented
terrorist attacks.
"This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of
keeping America safe," the president said.
He did not specify those practices, but repeated previous statements that the CIA no
longer uses waterboarding.
In congressional testimony last month, however, Justice Department official Stephen
Bradbury indicated the administration does not consider waterboarding illegal in all
circumstances and reserved the right to resume its use by the CIA.
Campaign aides said Saturday that McCain believes waterboarding violates both U.S.
and international law and is forbidden to all federal agencies. Randy Scheunemann,
foreign policy director for McCain's campaign, denied any inconsistency between the
senator's record and his position on the bill.
"It's not about waterboarding and it's not about torture," Scheunemann said.
He said McCain opposed the bill for the same reason he exempted the CIA from his
2005 legislation: his belief that the agency should not be limited to methods spelled
out in a public Army manual.
McCain feels "it's a good thing that (the CIA can use) enhanced interrogation
techniques that are not revealed in your newspaper," Scheunemann said. He
declined to identify methods that McCain believes should remain available to the CIA
while being off-limits to military interrogators.
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The Army Field Manual prohibits the use of force during interrogation. Among the
techniques it forbids, in addition to waterboarding, are beatings, burns and electric
shock; use of extreme heat; use of dogs; mock executions; forced nudity or sexual
acts; hooding or taping a prisoner's eyes; prolonged sleep deprivation; and denial of
needed food, water or medical care.
Democratic backers of the vetoed bill are far short of the two-thirds majority needed
to override Bush's veto.
"This president had the chance to end the torture debate for good," said Democratic
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a sponsor of the legislation. "Yet he chose instead to
leave the door open to use torture in the future."
When the Senate passed the measure by a 51-45 vote on Feb. 13, McCain insisted
that his opposition did not signal a retreat from his position on torture.
His 2005 legislation restricting military interrogation methods exempted the CIA but
was not intended to "permit the CIA to use unduly coercive techniques," McCain said
in a Senate floor statement.
He said the Bush administration should acknowledge "what is clear in current law,"
that waterboarding is illegal and that any U.S. interrogator who uses it risks criminal
prosecution. But McCain did not specify any other techniques that should be allowed
or prohibited, or explain why Congress should not set uniform standards.
Human-rights lawyers who praised McCain for his stand against torture said they
were disappointed by his position on the bill and bewildered by his explanation.
"I remain convinced that he is personally opposed to these techniques," said New
York attorney Scott Horton, a former president of the International League for Human
Rights. But as long as the Bush administration is free to apply its view of the law, he
said, the veto McCain supported will allow the CIA to use interrogation methods the
senator opposes.
"I think Sen. McCain's faith that the administration will implement the law in the
manner he describes is seriously misplaced," said James Cullen, a New York lawyer,
retired brigadier general and former chief judge of the Army Court of Criminal
Appeals.
Both of McCain's potential Democratic rivals, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and
Barack Obama, were absent from the vote but have said they support the vetoed bill.
Neither has made it a campaign issue, however, and neither commented on Bush's
veto.
Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean used the occasion to take a swipe at
McCain.
"It is shameful that George Bush and John McCain lack the courage to ban torture,"
Dean said in a statement. "And it is reprehensible that McCain changed his position
on torture just to win an election."
-- The full text of McCain's statement explaining his vote can be read online at
sfgate.com/ZCRL.
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com