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Congress seeks to restrict abuse of terror suspects

"Our troops are not served by ambiguity. They are crying out for clarity."

John McCain, US senator

The Republican-controlled Senate voted to impose restrictions on the treatment of terrorism suspects, delivering a rare wartime rebuke to President George W. Bush.

Defying the White House, senators voted 90-9 to approve an amendment that would prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in US government custody, regardless of where they are held. The amendment was added to a US$440 billion military spending bill for the budget year that began on Saturday.

The proposal, sponsored by Republican Senator John McCain, also requires all service members to follow procedures in the Army Field Manual when they detain and interrogate terrorism suspects.

Bush administration officials say the legislation would limit the president's authority and flexibility in war.

But lawmakers from each party have said Congress must provide US troops with clear standards for detaining, interrogating and prosecuting terrorism suspects in light of allegations of mistreatment at Guantanamo Bay and the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

"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," McCain said.

"Our troops are not served by ambiguity. They are crying out for clarity and Congress cannot shrink from this duty," he said.

The Senate was expected to vote on the overall spending bill by weeks' end. The House-approved version of it does not include the detainee provisions. It is unclear how much support the measure has in the Republican-run House of Representatives.

Representative John Murtha, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, is supporting McCain's legislation.

The confrontation by members of the president's own party shows how reluctant some lawmakers are to give him unchecked wartime power as the conflict in Iraq drags on and US casualties mount.

Senator Ted Stevens, a Republican, said he was concerned that McCain's legislation could inadvertently endanger the lives of people who work in classified roles. He said he hoped to fix the potential problems during negotiations.

"There are some changes that have to be made if we are going to be faithful to those people who live in the classified world," he said.

Former secretary of state Colin Powell endorsed McCain's effort.

"The world will note that America is making a clear statement with respect to the expected future behavior of our soldiers. Such a reaction will help deal with the terrible public diplomacy crisis created by Abu Ghraib," Powell said in a letter that McCain read on the Senate floor.
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