Amnesty Int'l responds to Bush's veto of waterboarding ban

Why does George W. Bush have such a strong need to torture people, even though intelligence experts have shown that torture doesn't work?

Apparently Bush just has to torture people.

Yesterday he vetoed a bill that would limit interrogation techniques by U.S. agents (including the CIA) to the standards set out in the Army Field Manual. Those standards (and international law) prohibit the use of waterboarding, sexual humiliation, dogs, and other techniques that amount to torture and abuse.

Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, responded to Bush's veto with the following statement:

President Bush's veto, in essence, spat on domestic and international law and compromised human rights to justify illegal, ineffective, and immoral practices.

The Bush administration continues its stubborn and reckless disregard for basic decency and values the United States should model. The president's action further compounds the incalculable damage to United States' standing at home and abroad.

While Amnesty International applauds the U.S. House and Senate for rejecting the bogus arguments validating torture as an interrogation tactic, Congress needs finally to shoulder its responsibility to immediately mandate an independent investigation into the heaps of highly credible evidence of illegal and inhumane actions in the war on terror, and then prosecute those responsible promptly.

While asserting that the United States 'does not torture,' as he vetoes anti-torture legislation, President Bush's rhetoric rings more hollow than ever.

Indeed.