"The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism," Powell wrote in his letter to McCain. Administration efforts to "redefine Common Article 3" of the Geneva Conventions, which bars inhumane treatment of war prisoners, "would add to those doubts," Powell said. "Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk."
I guess he'd just had enough. Thank God.
And on this oddball note, no less than Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the sponsors of an alternative bill making it's way through the Senate, accuses the White House of trying to arm-twist JAG lawyers into signing a prepared statement indicating their support for the White House's proposal:
But during today’s White House press conference, a reporter cited comments by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — a former JAG and an opponent of the Bush’s detainee policies — claiming that the White House had placed extreme pressure on the military lawyers to sign a statement, and that the lawyers had refused to sign the initial statement crafted for them by the White House.
That's certainly an oddball development, and Graham is either outraged over the incident or willing to play some serious hardball with the White House, or both.
1 comment:
Probably. He would have been a real contender in 2000, had he wished to try. But the fact that he backed out at the time means he's probably not going to go for the gold ring. Then again, you never know, Al Gore might get back in this thing and we'll have an election in 08 that should have been what we had in 2000!
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