Torture -- It's time to resist
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Reports and resources from January 2008 to ....

History Will Not Absolve Us
[5-2-08]

George Hunsinger, professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, founder of the Religious Coalition Against Torture, and author of the forthcoming book Torture Is a Moral Issue, offers sharp reflections on the recent revelations of the Bush administration’s deep involvement in decisions taken beginning in 2002 to approve and further the use of torture.

He begins:

According to an explosive ABC News report on April 9, dozens of top-secret meetings took place in the White House, beginning in 2002, in which the president’s top advisors approved the use of torture. Those involved were members of the National Security Council’s “Principals Committee” — Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, George Tenet, and John Ashcroft. Unfortunately, however, these dramatic revelations have been largely ignored by the media and the public. Yet we now know more clearly than ever before that it is because of these senior officials — and not just Animal House on the night shift — that America is regarded around the world as a Torture Nation.

Noting that “no one up the chain of command has been prosecuted for the torture,” he urges that accountability must be required if the U.S. is ever to recover from this moral stain within its own life.

We encourage you to read Hunsinger's essay, then write a letter to your local newspaper.  (See next item below.)

Top Administration officials planned and approved torture – write your local newspaper!
[4-25-08]

National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Torture is a moral issue!

We now have strong evidence that, as many of us have suspected, the abuses perpetrated on detainees over the past 7 years were not simply the acts of "rogue" agents or low ranking soldiers, but were instead planned and approved of by top Administration officials – including the President himself, as well as Vice-President Dick Cheney. ABC News and the Associated Press recently reported that the President's top national security advisors met in the White House, on numerous occasions and with the President's approval, to authorize interrogators to torture high-value detainees (by waterboarding them and subjecting them to sleep deprivation, among other abuses). Unfortunately, these dramatic revelations have been largely ignored by the media and the public.

Please help inform the public about the fact that top Administration officials were directly involved in planning the torture of high-value detainees by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper expressing your deep concern about learning that your leaders participated in the torture planning meetings and your disappointment that the media and the public have not responded to the news about the meetings with the appropriate vigor and outrage.

Letters should be short and direct. If at all possible, they should refer to an article that was recently printed in your newspaper. You can check your newspaper's website or call or email the Editorial Department to find out the best way to submit your letter and any guidelines they might have for writing letters. Many newspapers may have word limits or deadlines for responding to articles. Don't submit your letter to more than one newspaper at a time.

A sample letter is provided below our names. Please re-write it in order to make it relevant to your newspaper and your community. If your letter is published in your local newspaper, please let us know and send us a copy of your letter.

Thank you for all you do to end U.S.-sponsored torture.

Sincerely,

Linda Gustitus, NRCAT Board President
Rich Killmer, NRCAT Executive Director

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Editor:

As a resident of _(town name)_, a member of _(name of a congregation or other faith community)_ and a long-time reader of the _(paper name)_, I am writing to express my outrage regarding the recent ABC News reports that President Bush's top national security advisors (including Vice President Dick Cheney and now Secretary of State Condolezeea Rice) held numerous meetings in the White House to approve the use of abusive interrogation techniques (including waterboarding and sleep deprivation) on high-value detainees. Not only do these meetings implicate top Administration officials in condoning illegal acts that constitute torture, but, as ABC News reported, the President himself admitted that he was aware of these meetings and approved of them.

I am indescribably saddened by this compelling evidence of the fact that our highest leaders condoned and participated in acts of torture. Furthermore, I am also disappointed by the relatively mild response from the media and from the public to these revelations. I would have expected that news of the President's top advisors meeting, with his knowledge and permission, to authorize interrogators to illegally torture detainees would have been met with a widespread public outcry, and with a deluge of press interest in the issue. Unfortunately both the public and the press seemed to have responded with a collective yawn. I hope that this newspaper will take the opportunity to editorialize against the use of torture.

According to ABC News, after one of the meetings, the then-current Attorney General John Ashcroft asked "Why are we discussing this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly." John Ashcroft was right; history will not be kind to the top Administration officials who allowed detainees to be tortured. If the American media and the American public do not respond to these revelations with the outcry they deserve, then history may judge us unkindly as well.

Sincerely,

Responding to a New York Times report on April 2, about a Justice Department memo which in 2003 “gave military interrogators broad authority to use extreme methods in questioning detainees and argued that wartime powers largely exempted interrogators from laws banning harsh treatment,” Curt Goering of Amnesty International USA wrote this:

It’s high time that the authors of the Bush administration’s legal recipe book for torture be brought out of the kitchen and into the courtroom. Yet despite volumes of highly credible evidence of human rights crimes, or even war crimes, a negligent Congress continues to fail miserably in its responsibility to mandate proper investigations into these cruel policies. 

The United States’ moral and political standing in the world have completely eroded, and legitimate prosecutions of crimes against humanity against the United States have been compromised. Congress must finally face its own complicity in torture with concrete measures — not shortsighted hearings — by ordering a full, independent investigation into how torture became United States modus operandi and holding those responsible accountable.

The National Religious Campaign against Torture website has recently listed three very helpful resources on the sad subject of torture. 

For NRCAT’s extensive listing of articles and other materials on torture >>
 

NO MORE
No Torture. No Exceptions.

The latest issue of Washington Monthly includes a wide variety of articles by authors as diverse as former President Jimmy Carter, former interrogator Eric Fair, current and former senators, generals, admirals, intelligence officials, interrogators, and religious leaders. The editors write: Some are Republicans, others are Democrats, and still others are neither. What they all agree on, however, is this: It was a profound moral and strategic mistake for the United States to abandon long-standing policies of humane treatment of enemy captives. We should return to the rule of law and cease all forms of torture, with no exceptions for any agency. And we should expect our presidential nominees to commit to this idea.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

LETTER FROM HOLLYWOOD

WHATEVER IT TAKES
The politics of the man behind "24."
by Jane Mayer

in The New Yorker magazine

"This past November, U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, the dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point, flew to Southern California to meet with the creative team behind "24." ... Finnegan and the others had come to voice their concern that the show's central political premise-that the letter of American law must be sacrificed for the country's security-was having a toxic effect. In their view, the show promoted unethical and illegal behavior and had adversely affected the training and performance of real American soldiers. 'I'd like them to stop,' Finnegan said of the show's producers. 'They should do a show where torture backfires.' "

~~~~~~~~~~~

Published March 1, 2008
by Harper's magazine

"In the last eighteen months, Antonin Scalia, one of the most influential judges in American history, has twice suggested that he would turn to a fictional television character named Jack Bauer to resolve legal questions about torture.... This is evidence of the unprecedented influence of a television program on one of the most important legal policy issues before our country today. And it is, or should be, very troubling....

"We should start with a frank question: has "24" been created with an overtly political agenda, namely, to create a more receptive public audience for the Bush Administration's torture policies? I think the answer to that question is now very clear. The answer is "yes." In "Whatever It Takes," Jane Mayer has waded through the sheaf of contacts between the show's producer, Joel Surnow, and Vice President Cheney and figures right around him. ... I take it as a given that Surnow is working to develop public attitudes which are more accepting of torture; to overturn centuries-old prejudices against torture....

"The current season of "24" set to begin shortly features a senate investigation looking into Jack Bauer. A Senator is out after our hero, but he defends himself brilliantly and in the end, the senate committee, we are told, sees the light and comes to understand Bauer's heroic qualities, including his willingness to use torture."

                

A call for contacting Congress
from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture     [3-10-08]

On Saturday, March 8, President Bush vetoed H.R. 2082, an important piece of anti-torture legislation that would have banned the use of waterboarding, stress positions, induced hypothermia, and other so-called "harsh" interrogation techniques by requiring all U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, to abide by the restrictions in the Army Field Manual while conducting interrogations. H.R. 2082 was passed by a majority of both houses of Congress.

Sometime this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow, the U.S. House will vote on whether or not to override the President's veto. It is very difficult to override a veto (it requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress), so the attempt to override may not be successful. That said, we want to make every effort to convince as many Members of Congress as possible to vote for the override.

Please call your Representative in Congress and urge him or her to vote to override the President's veto of H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization bill. To contact your Member of Congress you can call the Capitol switchboard at (202)224-3121 and ask to speak with your Representative.

Thank you for your efforts to end U.S.-sponsored torture.

Sincerely,

Tell Your Senator to Support Section 327 of H.R. 2082

from Witness in Washington Weekly, from the Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Those who oppose torture have an opportunity in February to end the CIA "enhanced interrogation techniques" program. A vote in the Senate, which we expect to take place in mid-February, will decide the fate of very important anti-torture legislation (Section 327 of H.R. 2082 - the Intelligence Authorization bill). That bill would require the CIA to comply with the restrictions in the Army Field Manual on interrogation of detainees. The U.S. Army Field Manual prohibits torture, as well as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

Several senators have threatened to raise procedural roadblocks to Section 327 (the anti-torture provision), so we will need 60 votes in the Senate to keep Section 327 in the bill. It would be very helpful if you would take a few minutes to contact your Senators to urge them to support the Army Field Manual provision in the Intelligence Authorization Conference Report.

You can contact your Senators by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Alternatively, you can look up your Senators' direct lines and email addresses at http://www.pcusa.org/washington by entering your zip code and then clicking on the names of your Members.

Few moments occur when a clear legislative victory is within our reach. This is one of those moments, and we are asking you to do everything you can to help make it happen. Please take time this week to contact your Senators to let them know how important it is for them to support the Army Field Manual provision in the Intelligence Authorization Conference Report.

We are deeply grateful for your support and your effort.

Fact Sheet on Section 327 of H.R. 2082
(the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008)

   1. Section 327 prohibits all agencies of the U.S. intelligence community, and their contractors, from subjecting detainees to any treatment or technique of interrogation that is not authorized by the Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations. In effect this would extend the McCain torture ban (which currently covers only the military) to all U.S. intelligence agencies. The text of Section 327 can be found at the bottom of this document.

   2. H.R. 2082 (which includes Section 327) is a conference report - that is, it is the final product of a compromise between House and Senate conferees on two versions of the same bill. This conference report passed the House in December on a 222-199 vote. It is now before the Senate for its approval. The text of the conference report can be found at: http://intelligence.senate.gov/conference2008.pdf

   3. Senate Republicans have placed a hold on H.R. 2082 pending the outcome of a parliamentary objection to Section 327. Since Section 327 was not part of either the original House or Senate versions of H.R. 2082, Republicans will probably be able to raise a point of order against Section 327 in order to strip it from the bill. To overrule a point of order requires 60 votes. The U.S. Senate will probably vote on the bill in mid-February.

   4. Senate Republicans have also threatened to filibuster H.R. 2082. To defeat a filibuster also requires 60 votes.

   5. There are a number of Republican Senators who have voted against torture in the past, so even though we need 60 votes to pass this bill, it is possible.

Senators who might vote either way on Section 327 include:

OR - Smith
NH - Sununu
FL - Martinez
KS - Brownback
TN - Alexander
ME - Collins
PA - Specter
MN - Coleman
IN - Lugar
OH - Voinovich
AZ - McCain
VA - Warner
NE - Ben Nelson
CT - Lieberman
IN - Bayh

Spending three days talking about torture may not sound like much fun. It’s not. But about sixty people came together at Columbia Theological Seminary, in Decatur, Georgia, from Sunday evening, Feb. 3, through noon on Tuesday, Feb. 5, to do just that. Nearly half the participants were students, mostly at Presbyterian-related colleges and seminaries, looking for ways to act against something that seems to betray all they believe in about the Christian life, and about the values of the United States.

The conference was sponsored by Presbyterian-based No2Torture and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, along with the denomination’s Presbyterian Peace Program. Three seminaries also joined in sponsoring the event: Columbia, which provided generous hospitality, along with Princeton and Fuller. All three were represented by faculty members and/or students, and there were students also from Harvard Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary (both of them, in New York and Richmond), San Francisco Theological Seminary, probably others that I missed.

The meeting was held with one specific goal: finding ways to help Presbyterian congregations deal with an urgent issue which most of them seem desperate to avoid. Various participants spoke of their experiences in trying to deal with U.S. use of torture, whether in sermons or in less “weighty” situations. And the general reaction has been “We just can’t talk about that here.”

Witherspoon member Betty Hale has suggested that many of you may be interested in this appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union.  It begins:

This Friday, you can join thousands of people across the country in marking a sad anniversary with an act of hope.

The first prisoners arrived at the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay on January 11, 2002. Guantánamo quickly became an international embarrassment. It has made a mockery of our laws and values for six long years. We won't allow seven; this is the year we are going to end the national disgrace.

Nationwide, the ACLU has set January 11th as a day of protest, declaring that it's long past time that we put an end to illegality and close down Guantánamo. The ACLU and organizations across the country are asking people of conscience to wear orange to protest Guantánamo. I hope you will consider standing in solidarity by wearing orange on Friday as well.  More >>

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 >>

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