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In the very near future the Senate will decide whether or not the
United States will preserve its moral stance against the use of
torture. The president has introduced legislation intended to
reinterpret the Geneva Conventions to allow the use of torture,
reinstitute his idea of military commissions for “enemy combatants,”
and immunize U.S. personnel against violations of our own War Crimes
Act.
Take action now
Please take action now to stop the Senate from lowering the bar
against the use of torture. Call your senators and urge them to vote
NO on any measure that would make the use of torture legal.
Call the Capitol switchboard
directly at 202-224-3121 where you can ask to be connected to
your representative's office. You also may send an immediate
message by e-mail through our online
Legislative Action
Center.
Message/talking points
- I urge you to vote "NO" on any measure that will compromise
the U.S. historic adherence to the Geneva Conventions.
- The
United States is a nation of laws and constitutional due process
not predisposed to degrading, humiliating, inhumane
interrogations in secret prisons.
- This proposal by the
president imposes a system of military commissions neither fair
nor just under the standards the United States has agreed to
abide by in the Geneva Conventions.
- Immunization from
liability under the War Crimes Act, retroactive to September 11,
2001, for all U.S.-government personnel is unacceptable in a
democracy based upon laws.
- The president’s bill is a disaster
for those who believe in the checks and balances provided by
U.S. federal courts and the
Constitution.
Background
In June 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court rebuked the president on two
issues:
1.) the "enemy combatant" designation created by the
president was illegal; and
2.) the treatment of detainees is governed by common article
three of the Geneva Conventions which
sets minimal standards for treatment. (It is called "Common" Article
3 because the same article appears in each of the four Geneva
Conventions.)
To avoid the impact of that Supreme Court decision, the president
has introduced legislation in Congress (Senate 3861, the Military
Commissions Act of 2006) to remove the statutory requirement for
adherence to Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, to impose
his system that "enemy combatants" be tried in military commissions,
and to immunize U.S. personnel from prosecution for violations of
the War Crimes Act retroactive to September 11, 2001.
The president’s proposal would prohibit suspects from seeing or
hearing classified evidence, prompting opponents to say this would
amount to secret trials.
The president’s measure also strips the federal courts of
jurisdiction to review detention issues, reducing yet again the
checks and balances so important in our nation’s founding documents.
For more background, read
"Rebuff for Bush on Terror Trial in a
Senate Text" (PDF). |
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