Senate Bans Waterboarding, Faces Veto

The Senate today passed a measure that would outlaw harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding—though the ban is part of a larger intelligence bill President Bush has promised to veto, the New York Times reports. Passed by the House in December, the bill cleared the Senate 51-45, largely along party lines.

"Retaliation is the way of the world," said Sen Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat. "What we do to others, they will do to us—but worse." The bill would require the CIA to comply with the Army's guidelines on questioning detainees, which forbid harsh interrogations. John McCain, a former POW, opposes waterboarding but voted against the measure because he says the Army manual is too restrictive, Reuters reports. (More waterboarding stories.)