A Letter For Those Who are Triggered
Thursday, May 28, 2009

Today, I was participating in a thread about the photos from Abu Ghraib that show graphic images of rape and sexual assault. Several commenters said that they simply felt too triggered by the issue to write a letter about it. I understand this completely, and I volunteered to write a generic draft letter that they could use.

Here it is:

Dear [Name]:

I am writing to ask you to do whatever is in your power to bring about impartial, thorough investigation into torture and abuse of prisoners by the US government. As a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture, our government has agreed to such investigations whenever there is reasonable suspicion that torture has been perpetrated by, or at the command of, any official of our government.

In specific, these are the areas that I believe must be investigated:

1. Any and all connections between White House level policies regarding so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" (torture) and the part that such policies played in abuses that were carried out by soldiers and contractors at such places as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.
2. Why did the Bush administration proceed with authorizing and carrying out acts that, according to their own legal advisors (documented in the footnotes of a memo dated 5/10/05 - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/bush-memo-footnotes-defin_n_188008.html) were torture?
3. Why were contractors carrying out such torture allowed to exceed even the administration's own questionable guidelines for these techniques, without being investigated and brought up on charges of torture? Did the Bush administration neglect their duty and/or commit obstruction of justice in this matter?
   
4. Were contractors who were authorized by Bush administration memos to carry out torture involved in training soldiers, interrogators, and contractors at Abu Ghraib?
5. Have victims of torture (some of whom, in Abu Ghraib, were raped and sexually assualted) been allowed the opportunity to seek redress as agreed in Article 14 of the Convention Against Torture? Has a legal system to assure fair and adequate compensation to these victims been established by the US in accordance with the Convention?
6. Have all those who have broken the laws of these United States, and international agreements, been brought to justice?

At this time, I believe that the United States government is in violation of its own laws and international agreements, by virture of neglecting/refusing to thoroughly and impartially investigate these matters.

I request that you uphold your oath to protect and defend our Constitution by doing all in your power to bring investigation into abuses and torture authorized and carried out by officials and agents of the United States.

Sincerely,
=======================
PS -- If you want to "sign on" to this, leave your real name and address in comments (or email it to me, stating clearly that you are authorizing me to add your name/address to the letter) and I will include your name on my hard-copy to President Obama.

Posted byPortlyDyke at 9:35 AM  

3 comments:

Anonymous said... May 29, 2009 at 8:30 PM  

This is your authorization to include me in your hard copy to President Obama. My 'street name' aka registered voter name & address:
Diana Cristina
5534 Mt Pleasant Road
Port Angeles WA 98362
Thank You Portly!
ZuVuYah

Anonymous said... May 30, 2009 at 11:12 PM  

This is your authorization to include me in your hard copy to President Obama.

W. Keith Barnes and Christina Jones-Barnes
1101 SW 5th St
Grand Prairie, TX 75051

Add The Girl, too. She'll be voting in Nov 2010.

Deanna N. Barnes

Rosy C said... June 8, 2009 at 11:51 AM  

Rosemary Conder & Jeffery Conner
15700 E Jamison Dr #1-203
Englewood CO 80112

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