Senate OKs limits on interrogations

Underscoring the complexity of the political currents, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumed GOP nominee for president and a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, voted against the measure. McCain led earlier efforts in the Senate to ban cruel treatment of prisoners, and has denounced waterboarding in presidential debates. But preserving the CIA's ability to employ so-called enhanced interrogation methods has broad support in the party's conservative base.

In a statement, McCain explained his vote against the measure by saying he considers waterboarding illegal under existing U.S. law but he does not want to bind U.S. intelligence officers with restrictions designed for the military.

"I believe that our energies are better directed at ensuring that all techniques, whether used by the military or the CIA, are in full compliance with our international obligations and in accordance with our deepest values," McCain said.

The leading Democratic contenders for president, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, did not vote.

Five Republicans voted for the measure, and one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, voted against it.

Civil liberties groups praised the outcome. Elisa Massimino, Washington director of Human Rights First, called the vote momentous and said that, if enforced, the law would "ensure that the United States no longer employs interrogation methods it would condemn if used by our enemies against captured Americans."

The vote was not on a stand-alone interrogation measure but on broad legislation that sets spending priorities for the U.S. intelligence community in the coming year.

The original bill included no language on the treatment of detainees. That provision was inserted during negotiations between the Senate and the House. Feinstein's added language would bar all U.S. agencies from using "any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the United States Army Field Manual."

Under existing law, only prisoners in U.S. military custody are afforded such protections. The CIA abides by a different set of rules -- spelled out in an executive order signed by Bush in July -- that allows the agency to use an array of harsh methods, including sleep deprivation and so-called stress positions.

After the Senate vote, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that "for a number of reasons, the president's advisors would recommend a veto of this bill."