Saturday, March 8, 2008

Bush vetos waterboarding bill

Saturday President Bush vetoed a bill from congress that would ban the CIA from using waterboarding to interrogate prisoners. The President said, "it is important for the CIA to have a separate and classified interrogation program for the suspected terrorists who possess critical information about possible plots against the United States."

So what is waterboarding? The following is taken from wikipedia.org; Waterboarding is a form of torture which consists of immobilizing a person on their back with the head inclined downward (the Trendalburg position) and pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. Through forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences the process of drowning and is made to believe that death is imminent. In contrast to merely submerging the head face-forward, waterboarding almost immediately elicits the gag reflex. Although waterboarding does not always cause lasting physical damage, it carries the risks of extreme pain, damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, injuries (including broken bones) due to struggling against restraints, and even death. The psychological effects on victims of waterboarding can last for years after the procedure.

If I understand the constitution, the accused is considered innocent until proven guilty. Oh I forgot, those detained as "terrorists" don't get a trial or representation. So all the CIA has to do is pronounce someone a terrorist and they can torture them all they want? So much for human rights in this country. How do we complain about any abuses of our troops after this? Is there any wonder that the Iraqi's are bombing our troops? Each of us better hope we are never branded a terrorist!! We really need to get out of this war.

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