The intra-party battle that began under the George W. Bush administration continues to be fought along the new battle line drawn by Trump and anti-Trump forces in Congress.
McCain says no to Trump’s waterboarding agenda, and now the gauntlet is down on whether Trump will respond.
Here’s more from Newsmax:
A leading Republican voice on national security matters said Saturday he doesn’t care what President-elect Donald Trump says, the United States will not reinstate waterboarding.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said at the Halifax International Security Forum that any attempt to bring back harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, which simulates drowning, would quickly be challenged in court.
“I don’t give a damn what the president of the United States wants to do or anybody else wants to do. We will not waterboard. We will not do it,” McCain said to applause during a panel discussion.
McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, said extreme interrogation techniques are banned under U.S. law and the Geneva Conventions.
During the campaign, Trump said he would push to change laws that prohibit waterboarding, which was used against suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush administration.
McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, said waterboarding doesn’t work and makes it hard for the U.S. to claim moral superiority.
“What does it say about America if we’re going to inflict torture on people,” he said.
