[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [SRRTAC-L:16190] FW: Sign-on letter for local governments against torture and rendition

[Alfred Kagan]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Jim Kuhn" <JKuhn at FOLGER.edu>
> Date: March 23, 2005 3:28:57 PM CST
> To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l at ala.org>
> Subject: [SRRTAC-L:16190] FW: Sign-on letter for local governments 
> against torture and rendition
> Reply-To: srrtac-l at ala.org
>
> Fyi. - Jim Kuhn.
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jessie Baugher [mailto:jessie at bordc.org]
>  Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 11:48 AM
> To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
> Subject: Sign-on letter for local governments against torture and 
> rendition
>
> Friends,
>  
> The U.S. government's use of torture and extraordinary rendition (aka 
> outsourcing torture) are immoral and illegal, and they endanger U.S. 
> troops who may be captured.  The Bill of Rights Defense Committee has 
> drafted a sign-on letter against torture, extraordinary rendition, and 
> cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.  We ask you to invite your 
> local government and local chapters of veterans' organizations to sign 
> on to the letter (pasted below and online at 
> www.bordc.org/torturesignon.htm).
>   
> This is not a resolution and it is not limited to communities that 
> have passed resolutions upholding civil liberties.  Please spread the 
> word to your friends in other communities who might be interested in 
> taking the sign-on letter to their local governments.
>  
> NOTE: We are not collecting individual signatures for this letter.  A 
> petition for individuals will come out shortly.
>  
> Contact for signatories: Nancy Talanian, email ntalanian at bordc.org; 
> telephone 413-582-0110
> Deadline for signers: Friday, April 22, noon EST
> Supporting resources and educational ideas: www.bordc.org/torture.htm
>  
> Please keep us posted on your work so we can share your successful 
> ideas and any educational materials you develop with other 
> communities.
>  
> Thank you for all you do to defend civil liberties!
>  
> Best,
> Jessie
>  
> Jessie Baugher
> Administrative Assistant &
> Eastern Region Organizer,
> Bill of Rights Defense Committee
>  
> jessie at bordc.org
> phone: 413-582-0110
> fax: 413-582-0116
> www.bordc.org
>
> To President George W. Bush and Members of Congress
>
>  Dear (President Bush) (Member of Congress):
>
> We, the undersigned local and regional government bodies, 
> organizations, and individuals urge you to affirm that the United 
> States may not, through its own actions or through others acting on 
> its behalf or behest, engage in any acts of torture or cruel, inhuman, 
> or degrading treatment anywhere in the world. The degrading practices 
> that have been used in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and 
> elsewhere, and the practice of rendering prisoners to countries known 
> to use torture, are absolute wrongdoings in themselves. In addition to 
> inflicting pain, these acts have made both our country and the world 
> less safe from terrorism in the following ways:
> 	• 	They place U.S. military and allied personnel at even greater risk;
> 	• 	 They damage our country’s reputation in the eyes of the world, 
> and may discourage other countries from supporting and assisting us in 
> combating terrorism;
> 	• 	 They fuel hatred for the United States, giving ammunition to our 
> nation’s enemies; and
> 	• 	 They allow governments known to abuse human rights to cite the 
> example of the United States as justification for their disregard of 
> human rights.
>
>  Furthermore, according to the Army Field Manual on Intelligence 
> Interrogation, “Use of torture and other illegal methods is a poor 
> technique that yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent 
> collection efforts, and can induce the source to say what he thinks 
> the interrogator wants to hear.” And, Army Regulation 190-8 entitled 
> “Enemy Prisoners of War, Retained Personnel, Civilian Internees and 
> Other Detainees” prohibits the following as “inhumane treatment”: 
> “murder, torture, corporal punishment, mutilation, the taking of 
> hostages, sensory deprivation, collective punishments, execution 
> without trial by proper authority, and all cruel and degrading 
> treatment” such as “rape, forced prostitution, assault and theft, 
> insults, public curiosity, bodily injury, and reprisals of any kind.”
>
> The United States is a party to the Geneva Conventions, the 
> International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the 
> Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
> Treatment or Punishment. Under congressional guidance, the United 
> States is bound to prevent “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or 
> punishment” to the extent that phrase means the cruel, unusual, and 
> inhuman treatment or punishment prohibited by the United States 
> Constitution’s Fifth Amendment ban on self-incrimination; Eighth 
> Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment; and Fourteenth 
> Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law.
>
> For more than a century, United States policy prohibited torture. The 
> prohibition served us well and must be restored in U.S. policy and 
> practice. U.S. engagement and complicity in torture and inhumane 
> treatment are grave legal and moral wrongs. In addition, they have 
> made the world a more dangerous place, especially for members of our 
> armed forces, and have diminished our country’s standing and the 
> example we set for other countries. We, the signatories, ask that you 
> restore adherence to our Constitution, which you have pledged to 
> uphold and defend, and to the aforementioned international treaties 
> and conventions against torture and inhuman treatment by ensuring that 
> all U.S. government agencies enforce them and by enacting legal and 
> agency enforcement procedures.
>
> Sincerely,
>


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801

tel. 217-333-6519
fax 217-333-2214
akagan at uiuc.edu
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