Todd Tiahrt: “the two points I want to make in conclusion are very clear. Number one, it is against the law to torture anybody. If you…”

“the two points I want to make in conclusion are very clear. Number one, it is against the law to torture anybody. If you are held in detention as an enemy combatant or prisoner of war or even in our civil prison system, it is against the law to torture anyone. Number two, after my personal review of Guantanamo in Cuba and the prisons in Iraq, we have exceeded the requirement of the Geneva Convention. We have taken care of our prisoners better than the requirements in the Geneva Convention. If you go to Guantanamo Bay today and you walk through the prison cells, you will see that we have indicated the direction of Mecca. We have given them the ability to have a Koran which is not touched by the hands of infidels. We give them all respect to their religion, to them as human beings. They are properly fed. We will not even allow them to starve themselves to death because we believe that it is more important to keep these people alive than it is to take their life because they are enemy combatants. We have gone over and above the requirements. And I think as Americans we should be proud of what our troops have done in containing these enemy combatants, in containing prisoners of war. Wherever it is on the globe, we do not commit torture because it is against the law. We exceed the requirements of the Geneva Convention. So I think that this piece of legislation as modified from the Senate is not required.…”