Political Quotes

“I rise to speak about, section 514 of the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 which deals with the detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists. Section 514 was added to the bill as a result of an amendment offered by Senator McCain and Senator Lieberman. I commend them for their leadership on this issue, which is so important to our country, and to our ability to fight an effective war on terrorism. The 9/11 Commission correctly concluded that the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal has negatively affected our ability to combat the terrorist threat. The Commission wrote, ``Allegations that the United States abused prisoners in its custody make it harder to build the diplomatic, political, and military alliances the government will need [to fight the war on terrorism].'' As a result, the Commission recommended, ``The United States should engage its friends to develop a common coalition approach toward the detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists.'' In order to develop a coalition policy on the humane treatment of captured terrorists, the U.S. government must have its own policy that ensures the humane treatment of captured terrorists. That is what section 514 would require. It will reaffirm a very important, long-standing position of our Nation: that the United States will not engage in torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”