Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Never forget

We promised at the end of WWII to "never forget." We wanted to remember the atrocities of which humans are capable. I suppose the hope was that if we remembered the horror, we would be less likely to do it again.

So in keeping with that promise to never forget, I'm copying a message from Human Rights First, from a US Army General against torture.

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Dear Anita,

I taught prisoner of war interrogation for 18 years to U.S. Army soldiers. Neither I nor the Army taught torture: it's morally wrong, it endangers our own troops who may be taken prisoner, it undermines our values, and it does not produce reliable information.

I've listened to some of our current leaders say that we should use torture - what they call "enhanced" interrogation techniques - to combat terrorism. Abandoning our principles is never the answer. An expert interrogator needs to be clever, not inhumane.

Today, one year from the presidential election, I am adding my name to the petition to restore America's honor. By signing, you've already told the presidential candidates that you expect them to pledge to put an end to torture and cruel treatment. Now I'm hoping you'll forward this message to at least five people, asking them to put their name next to mine.

In one year, we could be celebrating the election of a leader who understands that torture is un-American. And you could be a big part of the victory!

Join thousands of other Americans for Human Rights and sign Human Rights First's petition to the presidential candidates asking them to commit to ending policies that have led to torture and tarnished the United States:

Click here to put your name with General David R. Irvine's on the petition.


Elect to End Torture 08 is a nonpartisan campaign to make sure that the next President puts an end to policies allowing torture and cruel treatment and adopts a strong national security policy that is consistent with the laws and values of our nation.