McCain: No Torture Prosecutions; Pelosi: No Immunity

[BlueJessamine]

Source: ABC NEWS

Sen. John McCain, a former POW who knows something about torture, has long been a critic of the CIA's interrogation policies. But today he has joined with senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham to urge President Obama not to prosecute the authors of the so-called torture memos.

"Pursuing such prosecutions would, we believe, have serious negative effects on the candor with which officials in any administration provide their best advice, and would take our country in a backward-looking direction at a time when our detainee-related challenges demand that we look forward," the senators wrote in a letter sent today to President Obama.

The senators also came out against the idea of creating a so-called "truth commission" to investigate the CIA's interrogation policies.

"We have every interest in looking forward to solutions, not backward to recriminations," McCain, Lieberman and Graham wrote. "That is why we do not support the idea of a commission that would focus on the mistakes of the past."


Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/04/mccain-no-tortu.html

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Pelosi says we will see the Judiciary Committee and the Intelligence Committee looking into this.

[Ian David]

1. Believe it when I see it. Yawn. n/t

[Name removed]

2. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[seemslikeadream]

3. Obama has no say in this whatsoever

[No Elephants]

13. In theory. Reality is a pesky thing sometimes, though.

[Renew Deal]

4. "have serious negative effects on the candor"

Yes, people would think twice before giving advice they know is illegal.

[Maeve]

11. I agree--if their best advice is "Break the law" and "torture", that candor needs chilled eom

[monmouth]

5. They sound like the Andrew Sister...n/t

[rateyes]

6. I bet those three share the same middle name: Stanley

As in "Stanley Tools."

[whosinpower]

7. Only by investigating MISTAKES of the past

Can you learn from those mistakes. That is the only way society improves and progress is made. If the information given to officials is gained via torture - that very information is crap. Your military went to war, invaded a sovereign nation based on false intelligence and crap. Your treasury is bankrupt, millions have lost their jobs, the economy is in the crapper - and you wasted valuable resources on an unnecessary unjustified war. Hundreds of thousands of souls have been murdered, thousands of troops died unnecessarily, tens of thousands are scarred physically and emotionally for fighting a war based on crap.

Heads should roll for this. The CIA should be afraid, and respectful. They SHOULD be doing a better job. Candor? Best Advice? Give me a break.

[YDogg]

8. why does john mccain hate america?

[Bluerthanblue]

9. McCain sure believed in "looking back" on the campaign, and the

republicans didn't have any problem "looking back" when it came to investigating any possible way to impeach Clinton.

Why did Bush go to war with Afghanistan if it wasn't due to 'looking back' on what was done on 9/11?

Why do we look back on the Civil War- the Holocaust- Hiroshima etc?

Why was ANYONE tried for war crimes as a result of WWII?


kind of convenient to discourage 'looking back' except when it is in your own best interests???

[Terran]

10. gad I hate them

Those three smug bastards think this can and will just be shrugged off as if nothing happened, that all it takes is a few vacuous platitudes to stop it...? They're putting party loyalty directly and blatantly ahead of justice. Vile people...human scum. :grr:

[Canuckistanian]

12. What a bunch of gobbledygook

"Pursuing such prosecutions would, we believe, have serious negative effects on the candor with which officials in any administration provide their best advice, and would take our country in a backward-looking direction at a time when our detainee-related challenges demand that we look forward"

I'd like to use that line if ever I'm in court for tax evasion.

"Your Honor, I believe that prosecuting me for tax evading would have serious negative effects on the candor with which I speak to my accountant. I urge you to look forwards, rather than backwards."

[No Elephants]

14. McCain, Graham, Lieberman. Who let the dogs out?

[northernlights]

15. I don't want to look backward to recriminations, either

Recriminations are a waste of time. I want investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction and sentencing.

And then we can move forward with a cleaned up slate.

And if the best their advisors have to offer is violating international law and every moral code we supposedly live by, stand for and represent, then who needs it?

[fujiyama]

16. If accountability means looking back

then I certainly support looking back. It looks like McCain, Lieberman, and Graham oppose accountability. No surprise. They were losers then and are losers now. Are these the three stooges? Someone has to photoshop that.

Obama does not control the DOJ. The attorney general will pursue a case only if it is strong and they have a chance to prosecute. Otherwise it may be considered politically embarrassing. I'm not saying I like how this will play out, but I am cynical and I seriously doubt this will lead to prosecutions and even if they are convicted at a lower level I think the torturers will appeal and they have enough cronies in the courts to excuse them of this.

But I hope the DOJ ignores these idiots and does what's right. It may not be popular or well loved. But we need a break from the past.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

17. Three cowardly weasels. These words will come

back to haunt them.

[LynnTheDem]

18. As long as ALL Americans get to use this excuse if they're caught doing something illegal.

Or are just SOME Americans above the law?