|
ATTACHMENT B
<br />
<br />To President George W. Bush and Members of Congress
<br />
<br />We, the undersigned local and regional government bodies, organizations, and individuals urge
<br />you to affirm that the United States may not, through its own actions or through others acting on its
<br />behalf or behest, engage in any acts of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment anywhere
<br />in the world. The degrading practices that have been used in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Abu
<br />Ghraib, and elsewhere, and the practice of rendering prisoners to countries known to use torture,
<br />are absolute wrongdoings in themselves. In addition to inflicting pain, these acts have made both
<br />our country and the world less safe from terrorism in the following ways:
<br />
<br />They place U.S. military and allied personnel at even greater risk; They damage our country's
<br />reputation in the eyes of the world, and may discourage other countries from supporting and
<br />assisting us in combating terrorism; They fuel hatred for the United States, giving ammunition to
<br />our nation's enemies; and They allow governments known to abuse human rights to cite the
<br />example of the United States as justification for their disregard of human rights. Furthermore,
<br />according to the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation, "Use of torture and other illegal
<br />methods is a poor technique that yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection
<br />efforts, and can induce the source to say what he thinks the interrogator wants to hear." And, Army
<br />Regulation 190-8 entitled "Enemy Prisoners of War, Retained Personnel, Civilian Internees and
<br />Other Detainees" prohibits the following as "inhumane treatment": "murder, torture, corporal
<br />punishment, mutilation, the taking of hostages, sensory deprivation, collective punishments,
<br />execution without trial by proper authority, and all cruel and degrading treatment" such as "rape,
<br />forced prostitution, assault and theft, insults, public curiosity, bodily injury, and reprisals of any
<br />kind."
<br />
<br />The United States is a party to the Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and
<br />Political Rights, and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
<br />Treatment or Punishment. Under congressional guidance, the United States is bound to prevent
<br />"cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" to the extent that phrase means the cruel,
<br />unusual, and inhuman treatment or punishment prohibited by the United States Constitution's Fifth
<br />Amendment ban on self-incrimination; Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment;
<br />and Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law.
<br />
<br />For more than a century, United States policy prohibited torture. The prohibition served us well and
<br />must be restored in U.S. policy and practice. U.S. engagement and complicity in torture and
<br />inhumane treatment are grave legal and moral wrongs. In addition, they have made the world a
<br />more dangerous place, especially for members of our armed forces, and have diminished our
<br />country's standing and the example we set for other countries. We, the signatories, ask that you
<br />restore adherence to our Constitution, which you have pledged to uphold and defend, and to the
<br />aforementioned international treaties and conventions against torture and inhuman treatment by
<br />ensuring that all U.S. government agencies enforce them and by enacting legal and agency
<br />enforcement procedures.
<br />
<br />Sincerely,
<br />
<br />
<br />
|