More demented McCain: Guantanamo is 'one of the nicest places in the world to live in'
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Added: August 14, 2008
John McCain
Speech
Aspen, CO 08/14/08
TRANSCRIPT:
WALTER ISAACSON: Are you historically in favor of closing Guantanamo?
JOHN MCCAIN: Yes I am. [...] So I'm for closing Guantanamo Bay because it's become a symbol. It, it may be one of the nicest places in the world to live in, but it has become a symbol and we need to close Guantanamo.
ISAACSON: Then why were you so furious at the Supreme Court decision saying that they had the rights to appeal to courts?
MCCAIN: Because I think they have certain rights. And I think we've just seen in this most recent case that the process can move forward. And it's years too late, and the process should have moved forward. And I wasn't happy, frankly, with the decision. [...] From what the evidence that I had, he probably should've spent more time in prison. But we had a system set up [...] There's a tradition for that--the Nuremberg trials and other war crimes trials--where they're given a trial and a judicial proceeding but it is not all of the rights that are guaranteed American citizens. Because under the Geneva Conventions, they are defined as illegal combatants.
[...]
MCCAIN: I think what the Supreme Court said was that they deserve certain rights, and, actually, also wanted to go back to Congress for more clarification in their decision.
ISAACSON: But you called that the worst decision in history?
JOHN MCCAIN: No I didn't. No, no-- Sometimes I'm given to a little hyperbole as you--
[audience laughs]
ISAACSON: Ok, Ok, I'll let you off the hook then.
MCCAIN: --As you, as you've already noticed. I thought it was a bad decision. But I also think we can fix it, and I think we may have been able to prove to the courts, if we can move forward with these judicial proceedings--which some in the media described as a "blow to the Bush administration" because it was a light sentence. I thought it was justice. And so I hope we can move forward with more trials and that way convince the Court. [...] I do believe that the Court voiced frustration in their decision that we hadn't moved forward with these cases, that here these people had been sitting in a prison for five, six, whatever number of years that it's been. And I hope we can show the courts that by moving forward with this process that we can--and maybe with additional legislation, in a bipartisan nature for a change--we can fix this problem.
LABEL: JM CO 08-14 (JR#68) ACKGX - ClipA - LS
To download a higher-resolution version of this clip, VISIT: http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/d...
McCain: Georgia conflict the 'first serious crisis internationally since the end of the Cold War'
McCain: 'In the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations'
Added: August 14, 2008
Click to viewJohn McCain
Speech
Aspen, CO 08/14/08
TRANSCRIPT:
WALTER ISAACSON: Are you historically in favor of closing Guantanamo?
JOHN MCCAIN: Yes I am. [...] So I'm for closing Guantanamo Bay because it's become a symbol. It, it may be one of the nicest places in the world to live in, but it has become a symbol and we need to close Guantanamo.
ISAACSON: Then why were you so furious at the Supreme Court decision saying that they had the rights to appeal to courts?
MCCAIN: Because I think they have certain rights. And I think we've just seen in this most recent case that the process can move forward. And it's years too late, and the process should have moved forward. And I wasn't happy, frankly, with the decision. [...] From what the evidence that I had, he probably should've spent more time in prison. But we had a system set up [...] There's a tradition for that--the Nuremberg trials and other war crimes trials--where they're given a trial and a judicial proceeding but it is not all of the rights that are guaranteed American citizens. Because under the Geneva Conventions, they are defined as illegal combatants.
[...]
MCCAIN: I think what the Supreme Court said was that they deserve certain rights, and, actually, also wanted to go back to Congress for more clarification in their decision.
ISAACSON: But you called that the worst decision in history?
JOHN MCCAIN: No I didn't. No, no-- Sometimes I'm given to a little hyperbole as you--
[audience laughs]
ISAACSON: Ok, Ok, I'll let you off the hook then.
MCCAIN: --As you, as you've already noticed. I thought it was a bad decision. But I also think we can fix it, and I think we may have been able to prove to the courts, if we can move forward with these judicial proceedings--which some in the media described as a "blow to the Bush administration" because it was a light sentence. I thought it was justice. And so I hope we can move forward with more trials and that way convince the Court. [...] I do believe that the Court voiced frustration in their decision that we hadn't moved forward with these cases, that here these people had been sitting in a prison for five, six, whatever number of years that it's been. And I hope we can show the courts that by moving forward with this process that we can--and maybe with additional legislation, in a bipartisan nature for a change--we can fix this problem.
LABEL: JM CO 08-14 (JR#68) ACKGX - ClipA - LS
To download a higher-resolution version of this clip, VISIT: http://issuealliance.box.net/shared/d...