is making an effort to support the McCain Amendment/ We need to help support this effort. We need this President to be as good as his word and redeem himself in the eyes of the American People. Please join me in signing this petition and asking Bush to Stop the Torture. - fc
Call on Bush to Oppose Torture
It was reported today that dozens of Iraqis may have been tortured by their Iraqi captors in a Baghdad-area Interior Ministry building. "A senior Iraqi official who visited the detainees said two appeared paralyzed and others had some of the skin peeled off their bodies by their abusers."
1
There are also troubling new reports that torture is not just confined to Iraqi prisons. Yesterday, two former Iraqi detainees filed a complaint with the ACLU that U.S. troops had subjected them to mock executions and other inhumane practices during interrogations in 2003.
2
Fortunately, John McCain, Harry Reid and other leaders in Congress are rapidly moving forward on bipartisan legislation that would ban cruel and inhuman treatment of prisoners. The Senate passed the torture ban last month by a vote of 90-9 and the bill has a good chance of passage in the House of Representatives.
The only remaining obstacle in putting the torture ban into law is the White House. The Vice President has already threatened an administration veto on the torture ban unless the CIA receives an exemption. This is unacceptable. We need to act now and show the White House that torture is not an American value and should never be the policy of the United State.
"If we are viewed as a country that engages in torture ... any possible information we might be able to gain is far counterbalanced by (the negative) effect of public opinion... This battle we're in is about the things we stand for and believe in and practice. And that is an observance of human rights, no matter how terrible our adversaries may be."
-- Senator John McCain (R-AZ) 3
"I think the administration is making a terrible mistake in opposing John McCain's amendment on detainees and torture."
-- Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) 4
"I'm a strong supporter of Senator McCain's amendment. I don't think the White House should veto it."
-- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell 5
"The United States can win the war on terrorism without sacrificing our values."
-- Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) 6
Petition :: Link
President Bush should be true to his words, "We do not torture," and support legislation that states: "No individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment."
1 Torture Alleged at Ministry Site Outside Baghdad
The Lawsuit Against Rumsfeld Torture Policies
2 Torture Alleged at Ministry Site Outside Baghdad
3 A Dangerous Veto Threat
4 Senate, Cheney divided over torture ban
5 Exclusive La Voz interview with Colin Powell
6 Bill OK'd to curb detainee abuse
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