Lindsey Graham Says He Would Have Voted Against Waterboarding Ban
Lindsey Graham Says He Would Have Voted Against Waterboarding Ban
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of the Air Force JAG Corp., has repeatedly broken with his party’s ranks in the past, condemning waterboarding as “clearly illegal under domestic and international law.”
When the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill — which contained a provision banning waterboarding — to the floor this week, Graham was absent from the vote because he was in Iraq. When contacted by ThinkProgress this week, Graham’s office said the senator would have voted against the anti-waterboarding bill.
Asked to explain Graham’s change of heart, the spokesman said, “He disagrees with applying the Army Field Manual to the CIA. The CIA is a completely different operation.”
In the Congressional Record on Feb. 13, Graham explained his opposition to the bill, claiming the Army Field Manual would limit the CIA’s operations:
I believe in flexibility for the CIA program within the boundaries of current law. The CIA must have the ability to gather intelligence for the war on terror. In this new war, knowledge of the enemy and its plan is vitally important and the Army Field Manual provision will weaken our intelligence gathering operations.
In Oct. 2005, however, Graham was singing the Army Field Manual’s praises when he said it is sufficiently flexible for intelligence gathering:
You can change the Army Field Manual to adapt techniques to the war on terror. There is a classified section of the Army Field Manual. There is nothing about its adoption that limits the ability to aggressively interrogate people to get good intelligence.
It appears that the Graham, as well as Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are willing to ditch their consciences in favor of backing President Bush’s misguided national security priorities.
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well duh! repukes love torture, only when its not being done to them.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:20 pmThese poor saps are going over the cliff with the Chimpster. Everything they stood for is “no longer operative” as they make their own reality. Reality will shake their worlds come November….
February 15th, 2008 at 4:21 pmWhat do expect from those three stooges. Maybe Georgie will show up at some fund raisers and take soem photos and they will get to hang on to power a little longer….at what cost?? You can’t spend it in hell..
February 15th, 2008 at 4:22 pmIn Iraq? Buying more rugs, Lindsey?
February 15th, 2008 at 4:22 pmSenator Graham goes on the record as pro-torture. Thanks for coming out of the closet Mr. Graham and letting us know where you really stand.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:24 pmGraham is a closeted homosexual. It doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it bothers him.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:25 pmLindsey Graham Says He Would Have Voted Against Waterboarding Ban. He Was Then Released From Abu Ghraib.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:28 pmWell, Senator Waylon Smithers can hardly contradict Senator Monty Burns, now, can he?
February 15th, 2008 at 4:28 pmAnd Lindsay was a Judge Advocate in the military during the 1st Gulf War…
“… where he helped brief departing pilots on the laws of war…” – Wiki…
You’d think he knows better… this is getting crazier by the minute.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:29 pmSuper-delegate withdraws support for Clinton to back Obama
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2008/feb/15/barackobama.hillaryclinton
A number of other Democratic activists who have the status of super-delegates are also considering withdrawing their support for Clinton in light of Obama’s long string of primary and caucus victories.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:30 pmF^ck him
Give him a water torture demonstration…. hell, give his entire staff a demonstration……
Then lets see what Alice thinks about it.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:30 pmIt appears that the Graham, as well as Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are willing to ditch their consciences in favor of backing President Bush’s misguided national security priorities.
These folks had consciences?
Coulda fooled me.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:32 pmI wonder how these torture chickens coming home to roost will manifest itself someday… This won’t end well for the US.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:33 pmYou’d think he knows better…
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
He does. So does McCain. That’s the saddest part.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:33 pm.
What Sissey Grahm meant to say was:
“I’ts not torture when America does it.”
.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:33 pmsome of them still have a faint memory of what “wrong” is….
…but it makes them no less guilty.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:34 pmRussia tracks rogue U.S. satellite containing nuclear material -2
Russia’s Defense Ministry is closely monitoring a U.S. spy satellite that has gone out of control and may have nuclear material on board, a high-ranking defense source said on Friday.
Russian military experts suggest the satellite could have an on board nuclear power source, a senior parliament member said.
http://en.rian.ru/
February 15th, 2008 at 4:35 pmWhy are all of these idiots still pushing for torture……do you think we are in for more military actions and they know it?
February 15th, 2008 at 4:36 pmWhere is his lapel pin? Damn sissy pinko!
February 15th, 2008 at 4:37 pmIt appears that the Graham, as well as Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are willing to ditch their consciences in favor of backing President Bush’s misguided national security priorities.
I smell the whiff of desperation. The Republiscums are circling the wagons. But, that’s ok. It will be that much easier to pick them off one by one. When the dust clears, there will no longer e a Republican party.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:37 pmWhen threatened with a little Anthrax Fan Mail they are easily turned to the Dark side.
Just more proof that repukes have no morals or ethics and are more than willing to commit crimes against humanity to back their Dictator.
Bush/Cheney
Hague Trials ‘09
Buck Fush
February 15th, 2008 at 4:38 pmI don’t know about anyone else, but I am SO FU(KING TIRED OF THIS WAR ON TERROR CRAP THAT I COULD SCREAM!!!!!
February 15th, 2008 at 4:45 pmThis differentiating between the Army and the CIA is happening because all the interrogating is done by the CIA these days on anyone that matters, no matter who catches them. They wouldn’t care if the Army rules of interrogating included giving the detainees a massage. It’s moot.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:46 pmthe same people that tout the “War on Terror” were the one’s that brought us the “War on Drugs” and the “War on Family Values” etc….. All it really is is the “War on our Intelligence”.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pmIn other words, Graham, McCain, and their ilk act not out of conviction–merely convenience. In this case, it is far more convenient to goose-step with their GOP buddies than to respect any sense of personal liberty, human rights, or historical judgments.
In my estimation, that alone disqualifies McCain for the presidency. He sells himself on principles he is all to ready to abandon for capricious reasons, and that’s plainly dangerous.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:52 pmWe didn’t need waterboarding. We needed a president who would DO HIS JOB, ACT ON THE MOUNTAINS OF INTELLIGENCE HE WAS GIVEN AND PROTECT THE NATION.
February 15th, 2008 at 4:55 pmalas, so many words to over and over prove the same old truth: hypocrisy in the extreme is a fundamental republican trait.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:02 pm.
Well Lindsey when he was in the house decided to put be at the front of torturing all of us with the Clinton debacle you know the smear on the dress action.
I figure he is such a closet case, course I mead that with all due respect.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:03 pmRemember the outrage when Bill Clinton asked what the meaning of the word ‘is is’?
Now we have Senators who are ambiguous about the meaning of the word torture.
Sad.
America’s a rotting empire being led by cowards and traitors.
-GSD
February 15th, 2008 at 5:03 pmGraham a true memeber of the Don’t ask Don’t tell group. Now Graham missed the vote because he knows the voters of his State would wont him out of office. Graham is so far up Bush/Cheney butt he would do as told without question.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:06 pmComment by IgnoranceIsNotBliss — February 15, 2008 @ 4:45 pm
I think a huge number of us are at this point, IINB. Shi-ite, go over to Michelle Malkin’s website and read the comments her regulars are posting.
They’re all crying about how betrayed they all feel by Brusch, that he’s not a REAL conservative, they need a new party, the GOOP is disintegrating right before their tear-filled eyes.
I have to say, it’s kinda entertaining, watching the righties break down and feel sorry for themselves.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:06 pmI have a friend here in Florida who gets very angry when I talk politics and mention anything about republicans or Bush. I also have a younger brother in Maryland who is the same way. I am amazed at just how loud and defensive they become at the mention of how much Bushco is like a fascist government. Why are they so defensive?
My brother, a USAF Vietnam vet (I served in the Navy but was out in 66) says he knows all about the need for keeping the military in Iraq because he talks to men who have been there at different VFW posts. While my Florida friend who never served told me today that he has heard retired officers speak at his church so he knows about things I don’t. Both call me stupid for spending time on the internet researching.
The really sad thing is they both admit that if they watch any news it is Faux news, and neither read newspapers. I have bets with both that our next president will be a democrat. To me they are the prime example of Ignorance is Bliss.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:27 pmWe should expect that our Government will treat its prisoners in the same manner as we would expect an Enemy to treat our prisoners. Period.
It’s called the Moral High Ground.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:28 pmI forgot to mention that both my friend and brother say if it was up to them that they would solve the problem in the Middle East by turning all that sand into glass. So much for diplomacy.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:31 pmI get it.
The CIA is our terrorist organization.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:34 pmSo much for diplomacy.
Comment by Saint Augustine — February 15, 2008 @ 5:31 pm
And a wonderful nuclear winter for the rest of us.
At least the gas you pump into yer car would glow in the dark.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:43 pmTo me they are the prime example of Ignorance is Bliss.
Comment by Saint Augustine — February 15, 2008 @ 5:27 pm
Augie, to be precise, I think when you’re talking about Republicans, the correct phrasing is “Ignorance is a Virtue”.
Witness the John Bolt-on thread. They celebrate ignorance. They look down on people who actually seek knowledge. It’s really sad.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:48 pmComment by bilbobaggins — February 15, 2008 @ 4:37 pm
I smell the whiff of desperation. The Republiscums are circling the wagons. But, that’s ok. It will be that much easier to pick them off one by one. When the dust clears, there will no longer e a Republican party.
Spot on Bilbo! Desperation! The stench is apparent. The corpse of the GOP died in 2006 and the smell is getting worse by the day!
In November, “It will be like shooting skeet” (I think it was TROS that said that yesterday.) They throw it up and we shoot it down.
February 15th, 2008 at 6:01 pmYes (the skeet remark), it was me, Merlin.
Pull! Ka_Blam! Pull! Ka_Blam!
February 15th, 2008 at 6:13 pmThis isn’t the first time that Graham has exhibited a lack of integrity and put his party above what is right. He often makes reasonable comments on the issues, then when the vote comes, he goes with the party, and offers a tortured logic for abandoning his “principles.”
February 15th, 2008 at 6:58 pmHe, like so many I have grown to know (thanks to C-Span), isn’t worth his own salt.
If Graham told me the sun was hot, I wouldn’t believe him. What a slimy,glad hand,fake,suck up this guy is.
February 15th, 2008 at 7:22 pmIt appears that the Graham, as well as Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) are willing to ditch their consciences in favor of backing President Bush’s misguided national security priorities.
Tru’dat!! Lindseed GrahamCracker will never step up for America! He’s a RePugniScum Facist traitor to democracy. He would toss this country in the toilet to support his useless loser RePugniScum party! What a loser, unAmerican phu(k!!
February 15th, 2008 at 7:24 pmRemember the outrage when Bill Clinton asked what the meaning of the word ‘is is’?
Now we have Senators who are ambiguous about the meaning of the word torture.
Comment by GSD
You might even say they are torturing the syntax.
February 15th, 2008 at 7:39 pmThey’re all crying about how betrayed they all feel by Brusch, that he’s not a REAL conservative, they need a new party, the GOOP is disintegrating right before their tear-filled eyes.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
What are the Federalists doing these days? Maybe they could restart the party of John Adams.
February 15th, 2008 at 7:42 pmAnd the Whigs, don’t forget the Whigs…
The Know Nothings? Oooooh… that’s a WINNER, fer sure.
The Bull Moose party?
Better to go w/ the BS party…
February 15th, 2008 at 8:19 pmsince Limpy Graham isn’t too well-liked here in SC, a repub is gonna run against him for is senate seat...only problem is:
he was a member of the http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=487
Buddy Witherspoon, denies it
BUT in 1999 he admits being a member
February 15th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
correction:
Witherspoon was a member of the Council of Conservative Citizens
February 15th, 2008 at 8:31 pmWhat kind of a weak argument is “He disagrees with applying the Army Field Manual to the CIA. The CIA is a completely different operation.” when he himself has called waterboarding illegal domestically and internationally? They are either bound by law or they aren’t and if they aren’t we need to disband them.
February 15th, 2008 at 8:53 pmIt seems to me that the government will simply turn over all detainees to the CIA for torturing, I mean questioning, as a simple way around the Army Field Manual at all times. Graham and McCain are nuts to think that any other result would occur. Torture would be the law of the land under this provision even though the Constitution specifically prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
February 15th, 2008 at 11:50 pmDallasNE, makes you wonder why they have been turning them over to other countries for torture if it was legal for the CIA to do it. Hmmm, I smell a whole lot of pig sh!t.
February 16th, 2008 at 1:24 amAnybody who supports waterboarding should have it done to them.
February 16th, 2008 at 6:07 amGo home and get back into your closet Lindsey.
I’m sure the Bush gang has got some good stuff on this squish and can pull his strings and make him dance anytime they want to.
Imagine listening in on his private phone calls and emails, there’s gottta be some good political blackmail material there.
What I’m curious about is; does the Bush gang have something on Pelosi and Reid, also? They seem to dance to Bush’s tune at times too.
February 16th, 2008 at 10:06 amTake heart folks. The likes of Mr. Graham and the rest of his Republican obstructionist colleagues will soon be heading off into the sunset of “active” retirement. Having to attend Senate business with no real power to obstruct progress is going to be sweet revenge. It is of the upmost importance that larger majorities in the Senate and House be realized.
February 16th, 2008 at 11:19 amLindsey was in Iraq buying more $5 rugs, but he WOULD HAVE voted for torture. Nice goin’. How many rugs did he get this trip?
February 16th, 2008 at 1:29 pmBullsh!t Dreamcrusher. Graham said he was against applying the Army Manual’s restriction on torture to the CIA. Nice try, though, fascist.
February 17th, 2008 at 3:02 amDreamcustard, your correction is bogus. Without meaning, therefore your Goebbels license has been suspended until further notice.
You of course understand that trying to mislead the public again with horse-pucky will of course mean that your W key will fall off your keyboard.
February 17th, 2008 at 11:16 am