Badly needed: Context of John McCain's "I am a war criminal" statement in 1997 on "60 minutes"

[Loubonilla]

Before I blog about John McCain saying "I am a war criminal" in 1997 on the "60 minutes" show, I'd like to see a transcript, just in case McCain is not simply telling the host something like: "I said under torture in Vietnam that I am a war criminal; I bombed children, etc.

Does anyone have the entire transcript, or the paragraphs following the "I am a war criminal" remarks?

[Loubonilla]

1. I think I found it

It appears that McCain did not confess to war crimes, but rather described what he had done in prison, which was to confess under duress of being "guilty of war crimes against the Vietnamese people."
Later McCain says he did this because "I broke." as a result of torture:

WALLACE: (Voiceover) People who know McCain well say he can hold a grudge. He also has a legendary temper. But if McCain can be hard on his friends and even harder on his enemies, he can also be very hard on himself.

Sen. McCAIN: I m--made serious, serious mistakes and did things wrong when I was in prison, OK?

WALLACE: What did you do wrong in prison?

Sen. McCAIN: I wrote a confession. I was guilty of war crimes against the Vietnamese people. I intentionally bombed women and children.

WALLACE: And you did it because you were being tortured...

Sen. McCAIN: I...

WALLACE: ...and you'd reached the end of the line.

Sen. McCAIN: Yes. But I should have gone further. I should have--I--I never believed that I would--that I would break, and I did.


Remember, McCain could not have possible bomb women and children while in prison. You can't pilot a plane while in prison.

[mod mom]

2. No one faults him or anyone for confessions under torture-they are unreliable.

It is one of the main reasons that TORTURE SHOULD BE BANNED!

and those who order torture( ie : *) should be tried for war crimes.

[Hoof Hearted]

3. Here's a link to a "Salon" page with part of the transcript

http://letters.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/02/27/hamas/permalink/ac2c8980e752327c1654e3cac1143926.html

[uppityperson]

4. Thankyou for that. And yet he supports torture now. Odd.