White House Drops a
Condition
on Interrogation Bill
By KATE ZERNIKE,
NYTimes on the Web, September 20, 2006
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 — Seeking
a deal with Senate Republicans on the rules governing the interrogation of
terrorism suspects, the White House has dropped its insistence on redefining the
obligations of the United States under the Geneva Conventions, members of
Congress and aides said Tuesday.
The new White House position, sent to Capitol Hill on Monday night, set off
intensified negotiations between administration officials and a small group of
Republican senators. The senators have blocked President Bush’s original
proposal for legislation to clarify which interrogation techniques are
permissible and to establish trial procedures for terrorism suspects now in
United States military custody.
The two sides were said to be exchanging proposals and counterproposals late
Tuesday in a showdown that could have substantial ramifications for national
security policy and the political climate heading toward Election Day.
The developments suggested that the White House had blinked first in its
standoff with the senators, who include John W. Warner of Virginia, the chairman
of the Armed Services Committee, and John McCain of Arizona. But few
details were available, and it was not clear whether a compromise was imminent
or whether the White House had shifted its stance significantly.
Until this week, Mr. Bush had sought to address the issue through two channels.
One was to clarify the limits on interrogation techniques under Common Article 3
of the Geneva Conventions by proposing legislation saying that the nation’s
obligations under the article would be satisfied as long as it complied with the
Detainee Treatment Act. That legislation was passed by Congress in
December and bans “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
The other was to seek changes in the War Crimes Act, a step the administration
had said was necessary to provide interrogators for the Central Intelligence
Agency with protection from prosecution at home and abroad. The Republican
group led by Mr. Warner favors addressing the issue through changes to the War
Crimes Act but has resisted efforts to recast the nation’s obligations under the
Geneva Conventions.
Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican on the Armed Services Committee who
has supported the president’s legislation, said Tuesday morning that the White
House had agreed to work within the War Crimes Act to refine the obligations
under Common Article 3.
“There’s agreement on the goal,” Mr. Cornyn said, “that is, that we continue to
comply with our international treaty obligations and all of our domestic laws,
but at the same time not tie the hands of our intelligence officials.”
Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, another Republican on the committee who has
backed the president’s approach, said: “It’s an argument between people
with strong wills. Sometimes you have to step back and re-evaluate; the
president has done that. Apparently he’s said, O.K., let me look at this
in a different way.”
Mr. Warner declined to comment on specific proposals, saying only that he had
“great optimism” that an agreement could come soon.
White House officials declined to discuss their offer and said they expected
negotiations to continue for at least another day.
“We are continuing negotiations in good faith and remain cautiously optimistic
about our ability to reach a resolution,” said Dana Perino, the deputy White
House press secretary.
Common Article 3 guarantees humane treatment to combatants seized during
wartime. The two sides agree that the article’s language prohibiting
“outrages upon human dignity” is too vague and leaves military and C.I.A.
personnel uncertain about what techniques they may use in interrogating
detainees.
The White House has argued that without more “clarity,” it will have no choice
but to shut down a C.I.A. program for interrogating top terrorism suspects.
But Mr. Warner, Mr. McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have
argued against any changes in the language interpreting the article, saying such
a change would invite other countries to reinterpret the Geneva Conventions as
they saw fit, which in turn could endanger captured American troops.
The senators propose to provide clearer guidelines for interrogators by amending
the War Crimes Act to enumerate several “grave breaches” that constitute
violations of Common Article 3.
Several issues appeared to remain in flux, among them whether the two sides
could agree on language protecting C.I.A. officers from legal action for past
interrogations and for any conducted in the future. Beyond the issue of
interrogations, the two sides have also been at odds over the rights that should
be granted to terrorism suspects during trials, in particular whether they
should be able to see all evidence, including classified material, that a jury
might use to convict them.
Mr. Graham declined to discuss specifics of the talks but said, “I am very
pleased with the tone and the progress.”
Mr. McCain said only that discussions continued. “There has been no rejection of
anything by anybody,” he said.
In the House, where the Armed Services Committee backed a bill that looked much
like the legislation originally proposed by the White House, leaders said they
still supported the president’s bill. But they postponed a vote on the
legislation until next week, while the Judiciary Committee examines it, and said
they would look to the Senate for any signs of compromise.
Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the majority leader, said, “I think the
president is on very firm ground here.”
Sheryl Gay Stolberg contributed reporting.
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