From Reuters:

"The White House on Thursday threatened to veto a massive Senate bill for $442 billion in next year's defense programs if it moves to regulate the Pentagon's treatment of detainees or sets up a commission to investigate operations at Guantanamo Bay prison and elsewhere."

So the president is threatening to use his veto power for the first time in his entire presidency -- and keep funding from our troops in the process -- because Congress wants to make sure American forces are not torturing detainees. Does this mean that Bush approves of torture? That he thinks it is more important for soldiers to be able to torture prisoners of war than to provide the military with adequate funding? Is this man serious?

How does a person even make a stand in favor of torture in any situation? Of course Bush isn't saying "lets all torture everyone," but when someone says that torture should not be the policy of the US military, and takes steps to ensure that it is in fact not a policy of our military, how do you oppose that?

The only three reasons I can think of that a person would act like the President is are 1) he is so drunk with power that he believes the American military should not even have to answer to the American people, 2) he personally thinks torture is a valuable tool, and wants to ensure that it continues to occur "under the radar", or 3) he believes investigations into torture would lead to revelations that abuse was actually condoned from higher levels within the military, enough so to even damage him personally.

Whether the reason he is responding to this amendment is one of these, or something I cannot even imagine, we will hopefully find out, depending on how this all plays out. Hopefully Bush has the sense not to veto defense funding in favor of torture. I can't even imagine how infuriated that should make everyone in America, Republican or Democrat.

To even come out publicly and threaten to veto the bill over this should make us all wonder if Bush really is drinking again. At least no one can say he was ever predictable.