american dna

Bob Herbert is on a roll. In this morning's New York Times, he explains a simple concept for the democracy-challenged.

You won't find many people willing to accuse John McCain, John Warner or Lindsey Graham of being soft on terrorism. But the three Republican senators are giving the White House fits with their attempt to get legislation approved that would expressly prohibit cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment of detainees in U.S. custody.

There was a dramatic encounter during the floor debate last week when Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican from Alabama, spoke out against the legislation, saying there was no need for it because, as he put it, the detainees are not prisoners of war, "they are terrorists."

Senator McCain, of Arizona, argued that the debate "is not about who they are. It's about who we are."

This is not an argument of semantics. These three members of the Armed Services Committee, including its chairman (Warner), will not approve the 2006 Pentagon authorization bill (nearly half a trillion dollars!) unless these amendments are attached.

The White House has been pressuring them, but the three Republicans are holding fast. When it was clear the appropriations wasn't going nowhere without these amendments, Bill Frist tabled it until September. The White House has threatened to veto the defense bill if the amendments are approved.

Herbert continues:

A few days ago I spoke with John Hutson, a former admiral who is now president of the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, N.H. He was one of the signers of the letter to Senator McCain. He stressed that this is a very big issue for the country. If the United States fails to get its act together with regard to the humane treatment of detainees, he said, we will "have changed the DNA of what it means to be an American."

Bob Herbert column here.