Campaign Against Torture

As a retired Air Force reserve lawyer, our breaking the rules on torture are particularly irksome to me. Here's a letter of mine published in today's Macon Telegraph:

Seven basic reasons to ban torture

Your recent series on the abuses at Guantanamo was disappointing, not because you reported it, but because of what you had to report. The unquestioned abusive tactics our government used there and in other places did not make us safer, damaged our standing in the world, and may even someday contribute to abuses of captured U.S. service members.

Policies that permit torture do not reflect the values of the America I am proud to call home and which I served as an Air Force Reserve officer for 28 years. Moreover, security experts and military leaders agree that the use of torture does not result in actionable intelligence. It is time for those of us who reject policies that degrade our values to make our voices heard.

The National Religious Campaign against Torture, Evangelicals for Human Rights and the Center for Victims of Torture have crafted a Declaration of Principles that calls for a Presidential Executive Order banning torture and cruelty. The Declaration offers a blueprint for executive action by delineating core principles of humane treatment which can serve as a basis for a new standard for U.S. interrogation policy that is sensible and humane - a standard that allows us to effectively defend our homeland from terrorists while preserving America's values. With public support, the president can move towards restoring America's moral standing in the world.

There are seven basic reasons to ban torture: To preserve our character and values, to ensure reliable, actionable intelligence, to protect U.S. soldiers serving overseas, to strengthen U.S. standing in the world, to encourage military and intelligence cooperation from key allies, to allow prosecution of terror suspects, and to preserve the universal condemnation of torture.

These organizations are made up of many faith groups, including The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist General Board, and numerous Roman Catholic organizations. Please visit www.campaigntoban torture.org and join the call to end to torture.