Bill NelsonThe Senate Intelligence Committee had an opportunity last week to send a strong signal that it would oppose the CIA’s use of harsh interrogation techniques banned by the Geneva Conventions. But while it issued a highly critical report yesterday on the CIA’s secret detentions and interrogation methods, the Committee failed in a secret vote last week to defund CIA torture methods when one Democrat, Bill Nelson of Florida, voted with the Republicans. From the New York Times:

The Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday questioned the continuing value of the Central Intelligence Agency’s secret interrogation program for terrorism suspects, suggesting that international condemnation and the obstacles it has created to criminal prosecution may outweigh its worth in gathering information.

The committee rejected by one vote a Democratic proposal that would essentially have cut money for the program by banning harsh interrogation techniques except in dire emergencies, a committee report revealed.

[snip]

But the committee stopped short of using its budget authority to shut down the program. In a closed session on May 23, two Democrats, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Dianne Feinstein of California, proposed barring spending on interrogation techniques that go beyond the Army Field Manual, which bans physical pressure or pain. Under their proposal, the only exception would have been when the president determined “that an individual has information about a specific and imminent threat.”

The amendment failed when Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, joined all the Republicans in voting no.

Earlier this week, Congress heard testimony from interrogation experts that harsher interrogation methods are not effective and should be replaced by non-torture methods that do work. That story also disclosed a speech by the former senior State Department official and executive director of the 9/11 Commission Philip Zelikow criticizing “enhanced” practices as immoral and destructive of other US policy interests.

Marty Lederman has more on this morning’s Times story, including language of the amendments rejected and passed by the Committee and his analysis of why this might lead the President to conclude he has Congress’ support for continuing the CIA program. And there’s a lot more on the illegal surveillance programs and Congressional intentions regarding future Congressional oversight of all intelligence activities.

Given the Committee’s broad condemnation of the CIA interrogation methods, Nelson’s vote to support torture is inexplicable. The nation’s media should be asking Mr. Nelson and his Republican colleagues which part of it doesn’t work, we don’t need it, it’s immoral, it damages our prestige and undermines our interests they do not understand.