George Bush stared down a revolt by Senate Republicans on Friday, saying their resistance to tough terror laws sought by the White House would expose the US to another al-Qaeda attack.
Bush showed no sign of compromise after four prominent Republican senators voted for a bill which the White House opposes on the treatment and trial of detainees.
"Time is running out," President Bush told a press conference at the White House on Friday. "Congress needs to act wisely and promptly."
Bush went on to warn that the refusal of the senators to endorse White House proposals to redefine compliance with sections of the Geneva Convention prohibiting torture would weaken the US in its "war on terror."
"I believe that it is vital that our folks on the frontline have the tools that are necessary to protect the American people," Bush said.
"The reason they need those tools is because the enemy wants to attack us again."
Senator John McCain and the other Republican rebels argue that loosening the standard on the Geneva Convention would put US soldiers at greater risk of mistreatment if captured.
Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, added his prestige to their cause.
In a letter to McCain, Powell said the White House proposals would create doubts about the "moral basis" of the war on terror.
But Bush showed little patience for that argument.
"It is unacceptable to think that any kind of comparison [exists] between the behavior of the [US] and the Islamic extremists who kill innocent women and children to achieve their objective."
He warned that the Senate draft would force the CIA to stop interrogating terror suspects at its secret prison network, the existence of which he acknowledged for the first time last week.
Bush also said that the CIA had used "alternative interrogation procedures" against high-value al-Qaeda suspects to gather intelligence that had thwarted attacks.
Bush argues that the Geneva Convention is vague and that the CIA and other agencies need greater clarity to ensure they will not face future prosecution for war crimes.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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