Bush seeks CIA exemption to torture rules

The Bush-Cheney administration is attempting to pressure the Senate to include an exemption for the CIA in its version (the final version) of the Defense Spending Bill, which calls for clear rules in regards to detainee treatment to prevent torture. Cheney personally handed the suggested wording, which would exempt non-Defense Department personnel working in the war on terror from anti-torture rules, to Arizona Senator John McCain.

The war veteran Republican bristled at the idea, stating to the media, "Any carve-out that would allow any agency of government to engage in torture would be legitimizing the use of torture. This issue isn't going away. We're going to win on this over time."

McCain's amendment which calls for clear rules for the treatment of detainee is an attempt to ban torture which was backed by 90 out of 100 Senators, including prominent Republicans and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

It's hard not to editorialize here, and ask: how can a President who has experienced the most dramatic fall in popularity in recent times afford to pressure Congress to allow the US to engage in torture?