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10/12/2004 Archived Entry: "H.R. 10 again"

Gordon P. provides further update on H.R. 10: According to Andrew Brown's Blog, the good news is that at least the clauses 3032 and 3033 buried on p.210 of H.R. 10 allowing prisoners to be "outsourced" to countries known to practice torture were apparently dropped by voice-vote before the final vote approving this monstrous bill. So apparently the RepDems still have _some_ trace of conscience left... The bad news is that these "Torture clauses" were replaced by clauses that would again allow "suspects" to be detained indefinitely, without trial, at the whim of the immigration authorities. While detaining "suspects" indefinitely is arguably less evil than shipping them to Syria or Egypt to be tortured, it is not _that_ much less evil --- and from other reports, the conditions at the detention facilities at Gitmo are not that much better than Egyptian or Syrian prisons, and they have likewise been accused of using torture during interrogations...