McCain, Powell Jump Ship: GOP Sticks It To Bush?

John McCain, R-Ariz., has yanked back the reins on Bush as a GOP-controlled Senate voted 90-9 on Wednesday to support an amendment that would prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S. government custody, regardless of where they are held.

McCain sponsored the the proposal which also would require all service members to follow procedures in the Army Field Manual when they detain and interrogate terrorism suspects.

" We demanded intelligence without ever clearly telling our troops what was permitted and what was forbidden. And when things went wrong, we blamed them and we punished them," said McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

From the floor of the Senate, McCain also read a letter of support from former Secretary of State Colin Powell who once served as the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff at the
Pentagon. "I fully support this amendment," McCain said, reading from Powell's letter, dated October 5.

"The world will note that America is making a clear statement with respect to the expected future behavior of our soldiers," the former secretary of state wrote, possibly trying to dig out from the political grave he has been in since serving in the Bush Administration.

"Such a reaction will help deal with the terrible public diplomacy crisis created by Abu Ghraib," said Powell.

Bush has vowed to veto the bill.

And so, the cracks in the armor began to show...


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