USA: Senator McCain and White House agree on torture ban amendment

President Bush has said he will now accept the amendment proposed by Senator McCain to ban the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners by US personnel anywhere in the world. In another development, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice stated during a visit to Europe that, as a matter of US policy, the Convention against Torture applies to US personnel “whether in the United States or outside of the United States”.