[BES Friends] US TORTURE POLICIES REACH FLASHPOINT ON THE HILL

[Stephen Meskin]

US TORTURE POLICIES REACH FLASHPOINT ON THE HILL
URGENT NATIONAL CALL IN CAMPAIGN STARTS TODAY

Last week the battle over US sponsored torture practices suddenly 
intensified. If we do not speak out now, there is a good chance that for the 
first time in our national history, torture and cruel and degrading 
treatment will be formally legalized. Between now and December 10th, 
International Human Rights Day, we need all of our networks to help organize 
and join a massive national call in campaign to end US sponsored torture 
once and for all.

JOIN OUR NATIONAL CALL IN CAMPAIGN:

In response to this crisis, UUSC is calling for a National Call - In 
Campaign beginning today, November 15, 2005. This can be done swiftly and 
flexibly, but requires massive participation. Clearly, the question of US 
sponsored torture and abuse has reached a historic turning point. Many of 
our national leaders who have authorized and condoned torture so far are 
fighting for their personal and political survival. The specter of war 
crimes trials, either here or abroad, looms on the horizon as never before. 
Meanwhile many of us within the interfaith and human rights community have 
exhausted our resources, working tirelessly against these atrocities.  But 
we must keep fighting.  WE CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN. OUR NATIONAL FUTURE IS AT 
STAKE.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

- Contact your Congressperson and both Senators, not once, but as often as 
possible.
(Please call your representatives' offices in Washington, D.C., by dialing 
the switchboard at 202-224-3121. Ask for the legislative aid in charge of 
human rights or the detainee issue. If they are not available, leave your 
message with any person there, including the secretary.)
- Contact at least five friends, and discuss this issue with them. Ask them 
to also make the calls, and to pass the word on to others.
- Share information with other faith and human rights groups or networks in 
your area.
- Organize "call - in nights" in your community, not once, but several 
times.
- If you wish, you can also visit our Legislative Action Center to send an 
immediate message by e-mail.

The key is to get thousands upon thousands of calls going to our national 
representatives on an ongoing basis. IT IS LITERALLY NOW OR NEVER!!

MESSAGE:
Please let your Congressperson know the following:
1. We are calling to vehemently oppose any measure which would permit 
special authorizations of the torture or inhumane treatment of any 
detainees. We are equally opposed to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus 
rights of detainees.
2. Please act now to protect Sen. McCain's measure against the inhumane and 
degrading treatment of detainees from the exceptions proposed by Vice 
President Cheney. Please also oppose Sen. Graham's measure to suspend Habeas 
Corpus, as well as Senator Levin's proposal to sharply restrict Habeas 
Corpus.
3. There can always be errors in arrest and detention during times of war. 
For this reason our time honored mechanism of Habeas Corpus must never be 
suspended or restricted in any way. All prisoners should have the right to 
at least be heard in court of law about whether or not they have been 
wrongfully detained.
4. Torture has been prohibited in this country since the days of Patrick 
Henry and we refuse to have it legalized in our names now. We have zero 
tolerance for torture.
5. Torture and inhumane treatment are profoundly immoral. We agree with Sen. 
McCain that "it is not about them, it is about us".
6. Torture and inhumane treatment are illegal, and violate our treaties and 
laws.
7. Torture and inhumane and degrading treatment do not strengthen our 
national security. Rather, they dishonor and endanger us by increasing 
hatred against us. The first to suffer are our own troops.
8. We demand that a Special Prosecutor be appointed to investigate illegal 
actions already ordered by our national leaders. Please press for such a 
measure at once.

Please let us know how your call-in session goes! Send us a note at 
stoptorture at uusc.org.  We look forward to hearing from everyone.

BACKGROUND:

As we all know, Senator McCain was able to win a landslide vote in the 
Senate for his measure prohibiting all forms of cruel and degrading 
treatment of detainees. President Bush has, from the outset, threatened to 
veto this bill, and Vice President Cheney has been openly pressing for a 
special exemption which would allow the CIA to use torture when so 
authorized by the President. To make matters worse, the Department of 
Defense just made public a new directive prohibiting torture and inhumane 
treatment, but it permits the Secretary of Defense to override this ban. In 
short, it permits Donald Rumsfeld to authorize torture.

Last week we received an urgent message warning that Senator Lindsey Graham 
of South Carolina was proposing an amendment to the military budget that 
would deny the detainees in Guantanamo the right to challenge their 
detentions in the US courts, despite last year's ruling by the Supreme Court 
to the contrary. In short, a prisoner would have no access to our courts via 
the Habeas Corpus mechanism. Habeas Corpus is one of our most fundamental 
civil rights. Even as we prepared an urgent action, the "stealth" measure 
went through! Five Democrats voted in favor: Senators Joseph Lieberman of 
Connecticut, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Kent Conrad 
of North Dakota, and Ron Wyden of Oregon. A compromise measure was then 
proposed that would permit Habeas Corpus, but only for prisoners sentenced 
to ten years or more of detention, or death. That means that a person who 
has been wrongfully arrested and sentenced by a military court could remain 
in Guantanamo for up to ten years with no court review at all. We cannot let 
this pass. The compromise measure passed in the Senate today, but it can 
still be blocked at the House/Senate Conference Committee.

Meanwhile, the hunger strikers in Guantanamo continue to refuse food in 
protest of the ongoing torture and degradation, and because they have been 
denied any hearings. Many are reaching critical condition. There have been a 
number of reports that brutal forced feedings have begun. We must not let 
these prisoners die or even face further punishment for moral principles 
which we ourselves cherish.

Both Senator McCain and CIA agent Larry Johnson have recently written 
compelling editorials on the subject of torture, its futility, and the 
dishonor it brings.

For additional reading about these issues, please see:
1. Frequently Asked Questions and Answers 
http://www.uusc.org/programs/stop/faqs.html
2. "Senate Approves Limiting Rights of US Detainees", by Eric Schnmitt, New 
York Times, Nov. 11, 2005.
3. "Rumsfeld Can Authorize Torture Under New Directive", Agency France 
Presse, Nov. 9, 2005.
4. "Torture's Terrible Toll", by John McCain, Newsweek, Nov. 21, 2005. 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10019179/site/newsweek/
5. "Why Torture Should Never Be an Option", by Larry Johnson, Los Angeles 
Times, Nov. 11, 2005, http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/111205E.shtml
6. Center for Constitutional Rights, "The Guantánamo Prisoner Hunger Strikes 
and Protests." 
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/legal/september_11th/docs/Gitmo_Hunger_Strike_Report_Sept_2005.pdf

For more information about our STOP Campaign, visit 
http://www.uusc.org/programs/STOP/index.html.

by Jennifer Harbury
Director, UUSC STOP Campaign