Bond criticizes torture legislation
U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., who is vice chairman the Senate Intelligence Committee, had a few things to say about bills proposed by the incoming head of the committee.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca., will take the reins as the chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, filed a bevy "first day" bills, including legislation that would close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay and reform American interrogation practices.
“Coercive interrogations and secret detentions have brought shame on our nation and made the war on terror harder to fight,” Feinstein said in a statement. “They violate U.S. and international law, and our treaty obligations. We need to return to the national norms and values that have driven the United States to greatness since the days of its founding, but which have been tarnished badly during the past seven years."
If the legislation is passed, Guantanamo detainees would be charged with crimes and tried through the U.S. criminal or military courts. If the detainee is found to pose no security threat, they are released or held as a prisoner of war.
The legislation would also limit interrogations conducted by the CIA or other intelligence organizations to the 19 interrogation techniques outlined in the Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations and prevent the CIA from using private contractors in interrogations.
Bond criticized certain aspects of the measure on Tuesday, and said in a news release that the legislation would "handcuff our law enforcement and intelligence agents."
“As I’ve said many times in the past, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to interrogation. The Army Field Manual, which can be changed by the Secretary of the Army, is not an appropriate foundation for legislation. Additionally, there are times when contractors are the best qualified individuals to conduct interrogations. There is actually more potential harm to detainees if less-experienced individuals conduct interrogations, just because they are staff officers."
Bond said, however, that he did agree with Feinstein that certain techniques, such as waterboarding, should be eliminated from the manual. He also expressed concern about turning over an alleged conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks over to an internation tribunal, which would occur under the legislation.