Sullivan is really round the bend on this one.
BUSH'S FIRST VETO? It appears that the Bush administration, before anyone has even proposed legislation clarifying rules for interrogation of "enemy combatants," has threatened to veto any military bill that does such a thing. Here's the Statement of Administration Policy, issued yesterday:
The Administration understands that amendments may be offered to establish a national commission on the detainee operations or to regulate the detention, treatment or trial of terrorists captured in the war on terror. The Administration strongly opposes such amendments, which would interfere with the protection of Americans from terrorism by diverting resources from the war to answer unnecessary or duplicative inquiry or by restricting the President's ability to conduct the war effectively under existing law. The Constitution and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Joint Resolution (Public Law 107-40, September 18, 201) provide the authority the President needs to conduct the war effectively and protect the American people. If legislation is presented that would restrict the President's authority to protect Americans effectively from terrorist attack and bring terrorists to justice, the President's senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill.
The emphasis is in the original. Translation: Congress shall not interfere with the president's right to supercede law and tradition and allow detainees to be abused and tortured. This is, as Marty Lederman observes, a throwing down of the gauntlet to Senators McCain, Graham and Warner, who want clearer, better rules for prisoner treatment. It's also an indication of how passionately this administration believes in the abuse and torture of detainees in the war on terror.
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