Welcome to Witherspoon on the Web       

News and networking for progressive Presbyterians

Home page

Ordination concerns

Immigrant rights

War on Iraq

Search Archive
2006 General Assembly Global & Social concerns Election 2008 Israel & Palestine About us Just for fun

News of the PC(USA)

Torture --
It's time to resist!
Other churches, other faiths War on Iran?? Join us! Notes from your WebWeaver

What's Where

Our reports about the
2008 General Assembly

You'll find much more on the GA at JustPresbys -- the shared website of 6 progressive Presbyterian organizations.

ABOUT US

The Spring 2008 issue of
Network News
is posted here
- in Adobe PDF format.

Click here for earlier issues
Adobe PDF  Click here to download (free!) Adobe Reader software to view this and all PDF files.

News of the Society
How to join us
Witherspoon's
Global Engagement Initiative
Dancing with God -- reports from the 2005 Witherspoon conference on mission for peace and justice

SEARCH

CONNECTIONS

Coming events calendar 

Do you want to announce an event?
Please send a note!
Food for the spirit
Book notes

Go to  Amazon.com

LINKS

NEWS of the Presbyterian Church

Got news??
Send us a note!
Women's Concerns
Social and global concerns
The Middle East conflict
The War in Iraq
Hurricane Katrina
U. S. Politics
Election 2008
Economic justice
Fair Food Campaign
Sexual justice
Peacemaking & international concerns
Caring for the environment
Immigrant rights
Racial concerns
Church & State
The death penalty
The media
OTHER CHURCHES, OTHER FAITHS
Do you want regular e-mail updates when stories are added to our web site?
Just send a note!
The WebWeaver's Space
ARCHIVES
JUST FOR FUN
Want books?
Search Now:

 

Take action against torture

Action Alert

Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Stop U.S. Torture

Take Action!

Support McCain Amendment Against Torture

July 27, 2005

Speak out to stop torture! The August congressional recess is an ideal opportunity to contact your senators while they are home from Washington. Urge your senators to support the McCain amendment (#1557, as modified) to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (S. 1042).

Torture -

bulletis inhumane;
bulletdoesn't reflect our countrys moral values;
bulletundermines human rights standards worldwide;
bulletcreates legions of enemies of the U.S.;
bulletbrings danger of retaliation on U.S. troops and travelers abroad; and
bulletdoes not work - it does not produce reliable intelligence information.

Act Now

Write or call your senators in their district offices nearest you. You can find your senator's district contact information here. http://capwiz.com/pcusa/home/

Tell them to send a message loud and clear to the U.S. military that no intelligence information is worth spoiling our countrys long-standing moral position that we in the U.S. do not condone torture, ever. Urge them to support Sen. McCain's amendment.

Below are some talking points that you can use in your message. You may also want to identify yourself as part of your community (where you live, your occupation) and include a sentence about why you care about this issue. The more specific you can be the better.

bulletI am deeply appalled to know that my government condones and participates in torture. This must be stopped.
 
bulletI urge you to support Sen. McCains amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2006) requiring that U.S. armed forces must observe the humanitarian standards in international, national and military law - the Geneva Conventions, the U.N. Convention Against Torture, our own U.S. Constitution, and our militarys effective rules governing military interrogations.
 
bulletCivilized cultures treat all human beings with dignity. The rule of law must be recognized as governing the behavior of our troops and agents overseas. Torture by U.S. agents is morally wrong. It puts our soldiers overseas in danger of retaliation. It doesnt yield reliable intelligence information because those being tortured will say anything, true or not, to make the torture stop.

Please, make it clear that the U.S. does not and will not condone the use of torture.

Background

Sen. McCain's amendment #1557 provides a clear directive to the military that torture is an unacceptable technique to use for intelligence gathering anytime, anywhere, and under any circumstances.

Sen. McCain (AZ), himself subjected to more than five years of torture as a POW during the Vietnam War, introduced the "Uniform Standards for the Interrogation of Persons Under the Detention of the Department of Defense." The amendment provides that: (1) all U.S. military interrogations must be governed by the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation; (2) no interrogation technique may be included in the manual that would constitute torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment prohibited by the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the U.S.; and (3) all U.S. military detainees must be registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In addition, Sen. McCain plans to introduce a second amendment to the Defense Department authorization bill. Amendment #1556 (printed but not yet introduced - wording under scrutiny as of this legislative action alert) would prohibit cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of persons under custody or control of the U.S. government. The amendment uses the definitions of the U.S. Constitution, the Geneva Conventions, and the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

--Catherine Gordon

Published by the Stewardship of Public Life (SPL) advocacy program of the Washington Office, Presbyterian Church (USA), 100 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, (202) 543-1126, www.pcusa.org/washington. For more information about the content of this article, please e-mail Catherine Gordon, at cgordon@ctr.pcusa.org. If you are not a member of SPL but would like to be, please click [here].

Take Action!

 

A major
Ghost Ranch event this summer!

July 28 - August 3, 2008

Paths toward Peace and Justice:

Spirituality, Earth-Care, and the Prophetic Word in a time of Violence

More info >>

 

If you like what you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep this website going ... and growing!

Please consider making a special contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve this service.

Click here to send a gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.

Or send your check, made out to "Witherspoon Society" and marked "web site," to our Witherspoon  Bookkeeper:

Susan Robertson  
9650 Clover Circle
Eden Prairie, MN  55347

 

An index of our reports from

 

 

 

BECOMING NEIGHBORS:
An Invitation
to Global Discipleship

A Witherspoon conference
on global mission and justice

September 16 - 19, 2007
Louisville, Kentucky

 

Check out our report from the Conference
on
Terror, Torture,
and Security

 

To top

© 2007 by The Witherspoon Society.  All material on this site is the responsibility of the WebWeaver unless other sources are acknowledged.  Unless otherwise noted, material on this site may be copied for personal use and sharing in small groups.  For permission to reproduce material for wider publication, please contact the WebWeaver, Doug King.  Any material reached by links on this site is outside the control and responsibility of the WebWeaver and The Witherspoon Society.  Questions or comments?  Please send a note!