Third Way Dispatch

The most amazing thing about the agreement the Bush Administration reached yesterday with Senate Republicans John McCain, John Warner, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins is not what’s in the actual agreement, but rather that this is such a unique occasion.

That’s right: Congress really is a separate branch of government. When the majority party in Congress fulfills its duties, as it did yesterday, we get better laws and policies. That’s worked more often than not in the last 230 years. Well, at least in the 225 before George W. Bush became President.

But the conservative blogs, the call-in shows, the self-promoting radio hosts – they don’t see it that way. Right after noting that liberals shouldn’t be allowed to have children, Ann Coulter (who fortunately has no children herself) wrote:

If the Democrats and the four pathetic Republicans angling to be called “mavericks” by The New York Times really believe we need to treat captured terrorists nicely in order to ensure that the next American they capture will be well-treated, then why stop at 600-thread-count sheets for the Guantanamo detainees? We must adopt Sharia law.

So this is what they think, or at least, what they say. It’s either torture or 600-thread-count sheets and burqas for all my friends.

What a ridiculous argument.

Consider the case of Maher Arar, the Syrian-born Canadian who was mistakenly believed to have al Qaeda ties and “rendered” by US authorities to Syria for questioning (interesting that we have no problem working with tyrants when we need something, by the way, Mr. Bush). You can read his complete testimony at his website http://www.maherarar.ca/mahers%20story.php But basically, he was detained in New York City, transported to Syria, thrown in a dark 3 by 6 foot cell, where he stayed for 10 months and 10 days.

Arar was beaten, including on the palms, wrists, lower back, and hips with a frayed electrical wire, one time for 18 hours straight. He was stuffed into a tire and threatened with electrical shocks, often while listening to other prisoners scream. He was interrogated relentlessly and didn’t see sunlight at all for six months. He confessed to everything they asked him, including training with al Qaeda in a camp in Afghanistan. He knows nothing about al Qaeda and has never been to Afghanistan (and never wants to go, he has added), and the Canadian government has now officially cleared him of all wrongdoing.

The United States should not be in the business of torture or of outsourcing our torture to others. But we should be in the business of hunting down actual terrorists and extracting useful information from them, which military lawyers and judges say can be done without torture. We should be bringing terrorists to justice, but without submitting them to kangaroo courts, something that the four senators say can be done.

This is all about being true to our own values and being effective in protecting the American people. We can do both, and to win the war on terror, we must do both.

The details of the compromise between the four senators and the President are still unclear, but we have high hopes. Third Way has gone on record urging these senators to stay true to their principles:

September 20, 2006

Honorable John Warner

Honorable John McCain

Honorable Lindsey Graham

Honorable Susan Collins

Senate Armed Services Committee

228 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Warner, Senator McCain, Senator Graham and Senator Collins:

Fifty years ago, a first-term member of the US Senate wrote of his frustration with the demands of his job. “Perhaps if the American people more fully comprehended the terrible pressures which discourage acts of political courage, which drive a Senator to abandon or subdue his conscience,” he wrote, “then they might be less critical of those who take the easier road—and more appreciative of those still able to follow the path of courage.”

That young senator was John F. Kennedy. His words, from the preface of Profiles in Courage, still ring true today, and that is why we write to express our appreciation that you have chosen to follow the path of courage.

The bill you introduced and passed through the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, the “Military Commissions Act of 2006,” is an important milestone in our nation’s struggle with terrorism. We at Third Way agree wholeheartedly that the United States must have tribunals competent to try this new kind of combatant – stateless individuals who operate wholly outside the law and deliberately target civilians. At the same time, it is essential that we operate within the framework of our own laws, our international commitments and our values. As General Powell suggested, the moral basis for our fight is critical to our victory.

We urge you to hold your ground on the key provisions of S. 3901. The United States will prevail against our enemies without resorting to torture, inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment or unfair trials. The United States will prevail against our enemies by standing faithfully by our Constitution – as we always have.

You have taken an important stand in favor of 230 years of tradition, the lives and safety of our men and women in uniform and future generations of Americans. As then-Senator Kennedy wrote in 1956:

We shall need compromises in the days ahead, to be sure. But these will be, or should be, compromises of issues, not of principles. We can compromise our political positions, but not ourselves. We can resolve the clash of interests without conceding our ideals.

We urge you to continue to stand on your principles, your character, and your ideals in the difficult days to come.

Sincerely,

Sharon Burke

Director, National Security Project