Graham says no to torture immunity

As many of you know, I have been keeping a close watch on the negotiations on the "torture amendment." The reason I'm so interested, better described here, is that in the negotiations, the Cheney/Whitehouse side are trying to negotiate, in effect, immunity for themselves for previously committed acts, and the McCain/Graham side aren't budging. Again, I'm not exaggerating, please look here for the details.

So, anyway, here's today's update with quotes from today's talk shows. Start with Frist scaremongering. (on Foxnews unsurprisingly.)

"I think there will be clarification of what we mean, how aggressive can one be to get information?" said Frist, who did not specify what would be banned.

"What does degrading mean? Do you not want to degrade a terrorist, not hurt them, but degrade them, if they are going to take out your family, if they are going to assassinate you? That's the question that is being worked out," he said.

Then, McCain ally, Lindsey Graham, who I'm slowly growing to like, on Meet The Press:

Sen. Lindsey Graham said the Bush administration and amendment supporters were still negotiating. "We're not close to a deal," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"There is a breakdown along how to best protect the troops. There is a philosophical difference here I don't want to divulge," the South Carolina Republican said, when asked if the White House was seeking immunity for possible past torture.

"The vice president is not the vice president of torture," he said. "He is trying to create exemptions, in my opinion, to protect our people who go too far."

Did Lindsey Graham just call Cheney the "vice president of torture" on Meet the Press? Snap. I'll bet that Republican "Holiday party" is gonna be a little awkward.

(Later) This little gem from the Guardian.

Binyam Mohammed, 27, says he spent nearly three years in the CIA's network of 'black sites'. In Morocco he claims he underwent the strappado torture of being hung for hours from his wrists, and scalpel cuts to his chest and penis and that a CIA officer was a regular interrogator.......

A senior US intelligence official told The Observer that the CIA is now in 'deep crisis' following last week's international political storm over the agency's practice of 'extraordinary rendition' - transporting suspects to countries where they face torture. 'The smarter people in the Directorate of Operations [the CIA's clandestine operational arm] know that one day, if they do this stuff, they are going to face indictment,' he said. 'They are simply refusing to participate in these operations, and if they don't have big mortgage or tuition fees to pay they're thinking about trying to resign altogether.'