John Cornyn: “My thanks to the Senator from Virginia. Mr. President, not everyone who has been engaging in this debate has been as…”

“My thanks to the Senator from Virginia. Mr. President, not everyone who has been engaging in this debate has been as constructive. We have heard some outlandish statements that bear correction, some suggesting this bill would actually permit the use of torture. Nothing--nothing--could be further from the truth. In fact, what this bill does is make sure that the provisions of the Detainee Treatment Act, which were passed in December of 2005 in this same Senate, that ban torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees, that we comply with those laws which reflect upon our international treaty obligations as well as our domestic laws and which reflect our American values. We are a nation at war. But there is no equivalency with the way this war is fought and prosecuted by the United States and our allies, no equivalency with the manner in which the war is prosecuted by our enemies. We have learned that our enemies have been at war against us for much longer than just September 11, 2001, and date back many years before we even realized America was under attack. We know that this enemy, represented by Islamic extremism, justifies the use of murder against innocent civilians in order to accomplish its goals. America complies with all of its international treaty obligations and domestic laws.”