NYT: Some Republicans Seek Prison Abuse Panel

[Pirate Smile]

WASHINGTON, June 21 - Despite opposition from the White House, some Republicans have begun to join Congressional Democrats in calling for an independent commission to review accusations of abuse of prisoners by American forces in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere.

Leading Democrat Apologizes for Prisoner Abuse Remark (June 22, 2005) The idea's appeal has grown in recent weeks, with Republican endorsements from, among others, Bob Barr, a former congressman from Georgia who now works for the American Conservative Union, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a former Air Force lawyer and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Republican leadership in the House succeeded on Tuesday in blocking a vote on an amendment backed by Democrats that would have attached a call for such a panel to the military authorization bill. But Senate Democrats say they intend to seek approval of a similar measure, in which Congress would establish a panel modeled after the Sept. 11 commission, with an independence that critics say has been lacking from the investigations conducted by the Pentagon to date.

The White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said Tuesday that he believed that the Pentagon's own reviews had been adequate. But Democrats pressing for an independent review noted that the White House had also initially opposed the creation of the Sept. 11 commission and the more recent presidential panel that examined intelligence related to unconventional weapons, but ultimately relented on both questions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/politics/22abuse.html

[PSPS]

1. "Critics say"

> But Senate Democrats say they intend to seek approval of a similar
> measure, in which Congress would establish a panel modeled after the
> Sept. 11 commission, with an independence that critics say has been
> lacking from the investigations conducted by the Pentagon to date.

Here we are with another perfunctory piece by The Times -- just another "he said, she said" piece unworthy of print. Yet they print it anyway.

There was a time when the journalist would have actually looked into the independence of the 9/11 commission and reported their findings. But today, it's just "critics say," and "some people say."

I'm sure this "reporter" was short on time, as he had to run to make his tee time on the way home to his McMansion.