Detainee abuse: major political battle brews

The McCain amendment to the Military Authorization (or spending) bill, calling for the end to ghost detainees and "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees" among other provisions, has caused a major political battle in Washington.

The Bush administration stood by its promise to veto the bill, and McCain and others were not able to come up with the votes in the Senate (let alone the House) to override the veto.

So yesterday, Senate Majority leader Bill Frist (TN) decided to give up passage of the spending bill until after the summer holiday recess. (Frist had attempted to force a closure of debate on the bill, which failed, as McCain, Graham and Warner and others insisted on the inclusion of the amendment protecting detainees. So he merely "shelved" the authorization.)

Voting on the controversial bill (which also contains politically charged military base closures) will occur after the Labor Day weekend holiday.

Politically, members of the Senate in both parties are disappointed with this result, as the bill authorizes spending starting as early as October 2005, and there will be enormous pressure on the Senate to resolve this issue in September.