The House of Representatives voted Thursday to prohibit US intelligence agencies from using waterboarding and other extreme interrogation tactics. The bill, which passed 222-199, will now move to the Senate. President Bush has already threatened to veto it if the bill passes there, reports the New York Times.
The measure was included in the intelligence authorization bill. If it becomes law, it will require US intelligence agencies to follow the interrogation rules in the Army Field Manual, which explicitly forbids waterboarding. The rules also ban sexual humiliation, "mock" executions and the use of attack dogs, and prohibit the withholding of food and medical care, reports the Washington Post.
"It is vital that our government’s interrogation practices not vary on an agency by agency basis and that practices actually employed are lawful, likely to produce reliable intelligence, and reflective of our nation’s values... With the passage of this legislation, Congress has reasserted its critical oversight role on intelligence activities," said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in a press release.
Media Resources: New York Times 12/14/07; Washington Post 12/14/07; Pelosi Press Release 12/13/07
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