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U.S. defence bill becomes law, contains language on detainees
Dec 31, 2005, 1:01 GMT
Washington - U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday signed a massive 453.5-billion-dollar defence spending bill into law that includes language banning cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of anyone in U.S. government custody.
The bill includes 403.5 billion dollars for defence programmes in fiscal 2006 and 50 billion dollars for war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, a former prisoner of war, drafted the language on the treatment of detainees.
Although the White House vehemently opposed the language for months, it had significant support in both chambers of the U.S. Congress and ultimately became part of the legislation.
Under the law, military interrogators will now have to follow interrogation procedures laid out in the Army Field Manual.
© 2005 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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