Editorial: No ‘partial’ ban on torture

Thursday, Oct. 27, 2005 | 8:39 a.m.

If anyone should know about torture, it is Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. A Navy pilot during the Vietnam War, he was shot down, captured and held at the Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi, North Vietnam, for more than five years. Captured American servicemen at this infamous "Hanoi Hilton" regularly underwent torture, and McCain endured his share.

In response to reports of Americans torturing Iraqi and Afghan detainees and suspected al-Qaida members, McCain offered legislation that would protect all prisoners or detainees in U.S. custody from the same fate.

The United States has already ratified international laws against torture, including those found in the third and fourth Geneva Conventions of 1949. But steadfast commitment to international laws can be disputed, as confirmed by memos in 2002 and 2003 from the Justice and Defense departments to the White House.

The memos said international laws banning torture were subordinate to the president's job of protecting the United States from terrorists. McCain's amendment would put an indisputable ban against wartime torture in U.S. law.

The Senate this month approved McCain's amendment, but the House didn't, meaning it will be decided in a Senate-House conference. Meanwhile, the White House has weighed in, asking that if an anti-torture amendment is approved that it exclude the CIA from having to comply.

This request from the Bush administration disgraces the country, as torture is morally reprehensible and the United States has long led the global fight for human rights. Further, torture by us only invites our enemies to torture any captured Americans. Also, it rarely works -- people will say anything to stop the pain.

McCain's amendment should be passed and honored by all branches of the government, including the intelligence services.