Durbin Is Not Convinced Gonzales Is Suitable For AG

[Rose Siding]

Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee that grilled Gonzales for more than seven hours during the hearing, which is part of the process presidential cabinet nominees must endure to receive Senate confirmation.

"I like him personally very much," Durbin said Friday afternoon. "His life story is very inspiring. He has worked hard and reached an extraordinarily high level of achievement."

That said, Durbin then expressed concerns he has about Gonzales and whether or not the 49-year-old Texan is the right person to become the nation's top law enforcement officer.
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"This chapter of the American war on terrorism could turn out to be as historic an embarrassment to the U.S. as the Japanese interment was during World War II," Durbin said. "The images of Abu Ghraib will serve as recruitment posters for terrorists for years to come."

Durbin said Gonzales' role in the policy-making "raises questions about his judgment. You can't really predict how someone is going to be (in the attorney general's position). All you can do is look at a person's record. That's why this is so troubling. He was involved in a decision that turned out to be a monumental blunder."
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"I asked him, point blank, if any American person, either government or military, could legally use torture. He said he'd have to get back to me," Durbin said. "I was stunned by his lack of an immediate answer."

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/01/08/top/doc41dfd9ecc7fb6935859044.txt