McCain stands his ground on CIA jails

McCain stands his ground on CIA jails
By Demetri Sevastopulo, Caroline Daniel and Holly Yeager in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006
Published: September 14 2006 21:03 | Last updated: September 15 2006 00:20


John McCain, the Republican frontrunner for the 2008 presidential election, has dramatically raised the stakes in a fight with the White House over interrogation techniques permitted for use at secret Central Intelligence Agency prisons by saying he is unwilling to back down on the issue even if it ruins his chance of becoming president.

The Arizona senator, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, strongly opposes Bush administration legislation that he says would redefine US obligations under the Geneva conventions. The White House played down the escalating dispute yesterday, which mirrors a similar battle Mr McCain won last year against the administration.

“This is not a showdown at the O.K. Corral,” said Tony Snow, the White House press secretary.

But two people briefed on conversations that Mr McCain had with his staff said the senator told aides he was willing to risk the presidency, because of possible loss of support from Republican lawmakers and voters.

“His decision to take a stand on this issue is not based on a political calculation,” said Eileen McMenamin, his spokeswoman. “He believes this is the right thing to do to protect American servicemen and women, and our values.”

Just hours after a rare visit to Capitol Hill by President George W. Bush yesterday, the Senate armed services committee yesterday approved legislation being pushed by Mr McCain that the White House says would force it to shut down its secret prisons.

Mr McCain has received backing from Colin Powell, the secretary of state during the first four years of the Bush administration.

“The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. To redefine Common Article 3 [of the Geneva conventions] would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk,” Mr Powell wrote in a letter to Mr McCain released yesterday.

“We are not saying the CIA cannot carry out a programme,” Mr McCain said yesterday. “We are saying it cannot amend the Geneva conventions, which calls for the kind of treatment of prisoners that fall under Common Article 3.”

Before the vote, Mr Bush vowed to “resist any bill that does not enable this [CIA] programme to go forward with legal clarity”.

The House armed services committee earlier this week easily passed legislation that more closely mirrors the White House proposal.

In a move widely perceived as an attempt to boost support for Republicans ahead of the crucial November congressional elections, Mr Bush announced last week that Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, and 13 other high-value al-Qaeda detainees had been transferred from secret CIA prisons – the existence of which the administration had refused to acknowledge – to Guantánamo Bay for prosecution.

Democrats, hoping to avoid being painted as weak on national security, have stood on the sidelines so far. But the political cover provided by Republican leaders in the field such as Mr McCain and Mr Powell are likely to embolden them to join in opposing the White House proposal.

Mr Snow said that Michael Hayden, the CIA director, had concluded that under the McCain legislation, “the CIA programme would have to be shut down”.

Mr McCain criticised Mr Hayden, saying: “He’s trying to protect his reputation at the risk of America’s reputation.”