Fwd: Torture Permission to be Slipped into Law? - FCNL

[Guest guest]

--- Kathy Guthrie <kathyguthrie wrote:

 

> Torture Permission to be Slipped into

> Law? - FCNL

> " Mary Riley " <mk2967

> " Kathy Guthrie " <kathyguthrie

> Thu, 27 Oct 2005 14:08:56 -0400 (EDT)

>

> The vice-president of the United States is

> publically advocating giving

> a U.S. government agency statutory authority to

> use torture. Supporters

> of the McCain anti-torture amendment to the

> military spending bill have

> no time to enjoy the amendment's overwhelming

> 90-9 bi-partisan passage

> in the Senate. The amendment may be rendered

> meaningless by loopholes

> under consideration in conference committee. We

> must act now, telling

> Congress that no matter which government

> agency, no matter where, and

> no matter how the president characterizes the

> circumstances, United

> States forces do not ever have permission to

> torture or use cruel,

> inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

>

> TAKE ACTION:

> Please contact your congressional delegation,

> including both of your

> senators and your representative. Tell them

> that the McCain amendment

> must not be altered during conference committee

> to lessen its

> provisions. Tell them that every member of

> Congress has the

> responsibility to make sure that U.S. moral

> values and sound military

> principles are upheld by preserving the McCain

> amendment to the 2006

> military appropriations bill, intact for the

> president's signature.

>

> See FCNL's web site to find a sample letter and

> contact your members of

> Congress directly:

>

http://capwiz.com/fconl/issues/alert/?alertid=8170141 & type=CO.

> You will need to enter your zip code to see the

> sample letter.

>

> BACKGROUND:

> President Bush has threatened to veto the 2006

> military appropriations

> bill (H.R. 2863) because the Senate amended its

> version of the bill to

> require that: (1) treatment of all Department

> of Defense (DoD)

> detainees or detainees held in DoD facilities

> must follow the Army

> Field Manual for Intelligence Interrogation;

> and (2) the U.N.

> Convention Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman

> and Degrading Treatment

> (to which the U.S. is a signatory) governs all

> U.S. detainees. Here's a

> link to the text of the amendment:

>

http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1567 & issue_id=70.

>

> The president's congressional allies were

> initially rumored to have

> plans to strip the amendment from the bill.

> However, the lopsided,

> bi-partisan vote in the Senate signaled a

> powerful political incentive

> for the conference committee to retain the

> amendment in the bill.

> Instead of working to strip the amendment, the

> administration and its

> supporters have suggested revisions to the

> amendment that would water

> it down to the point of meaninglessness.

> Vice-President Cheney proposed

> his own " compromise " plan to Sen. McCain last

> week (week of

> Oct. 10). The Cheney Plan would exempt the CIA

> from the provisions of

> the anti-torture amendment. This plan is so

> shocking, it bears

> repeating: the vice-president of the United

> States is publically

> advocating giving a U.S. government agency

> statutory authority to use

> torture. This proposal is especially dangerous

> in light of the

> administration's support for moving all

> intelligence functions out of

> the Pentagon and the FBI and into the CIA's

> portfolio.

>

> Other proponents of allowing brutal treatment

> under some circumstances

> have suggested other loopholes to the

> amendment, e.g., presidential

> waiver (the president could, using his own

> judgment, waive the

> prohibition in the interest of national

> security); geographic

> limitation (torture would be prohibited only in

> certain locations, such

> as on U.S. soil); or non-applicability of the

> amendment during

> " classified " interrogations.

>

> The president argues that the McCain amendment

> ties the president's

> hands in his efforts to preserve national

> security in the

> post-September 11 world. He also claims that as

> commander-in-chief, he

> has the authority to determine the rules by

> which detainees in the

> " war against terror " are handled. Human rights

> supporters

> disagree, pointing to the U.S. Constitution,

> Art. I, sec. 8: " The

> Congress shall have Power ... To declare War,

> grant Letters of Marque

> and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning

> Captures on Land and

> Water. " (emphasis added)

>

> Human rights advocates reiterate that torture -

>

> is inhumane;

>

> doesn't reflect our country's moral values;

>

> undermines human rights standards

> worldwide;

>

> creates legions of enemies of the U.S.;

>

> brings danger of retaliation on U.S. troops

> and travelers abroad; and

>

> does not work - it does not produce

> reliable intelligence information.

>

> Here's a link to the FCNL website for further

> background information

> about the use of torture:

>

http://www.fcnl.org/issues/issue.php?issue_id=70.

>

> _____

>

> Coming Soon: Preview the look for FCNL's new

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> unavailable intermittently throughout the day.

> Thank you for your

> patience!

>

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>

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>

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> ______

>

> Friends Committee on National Legislation

> 245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795

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>

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