More politics!

In the San Francisco Chroncile this morning:

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a victim of torture while a prisoner during the Vietnam War, won approval of the measure that would make interrogation techniques outlined in the Army Field Manual the standard for handling detainees in Defense Department custody and prohibit “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment of U.S.-held prisoners.

The White House has threatened to veto the $440 billion military spending bill to which the measure was attached, and Vice President Dick Cheney has lobbied to defeat the detainee measure. White House spokesman Scott McClellan objected that the measure would “limit the president’s ability as commander-in-chief to effectively carry out the war on terrorism.”

But the quote that I thought was juiciest:

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who opposed McCain’s proposal, said, “This is a different war now. … We’re in a war against terrorists, and I don’t think they’re entitled to the same type of treatment that we give to prisoners of war.”

He’s all but saying that terrorists aren’t people.

Terrorism is, by and large, a horrible thing. But I don’t think that people who have been oppressed or brainwashed into resorting to violence for attention should be considered less than people.

If we in the US are to take a “moral stand” in the world, it has to start at home. And one of those things is realizing that in order to be better than your enemy you must BE better than your enemy. Establishing clear guidelines for treating “detainees” (read: people the government has imprisoned without due process, council, or any of the normal things you’d expect) with human decency.

If you want to morally justify fighting terrorism, you can’t use it yourself.