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UUSC is outraged at the new law approved by Congress and signed by President Bush that will legitimize the use of torture by U.S. government agents and greatly expand the president’s power to authorize its use.

The new law will allow certain interrogation techniques for terror suspects that are widely regarded as torture, and would continue the secret CIA program for interrogating terrorism suspects. It would allow the president to “interpret the meaning and application” of international standards for prisoner treatment and would deny detainees the habeas corpus right to challenge their detentions in federal court.

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Send a message to President Bush using his own much-abused and constitutionally questionable "signing statements" about how he will interpret laws passed by Congress. Use our online Legislative Action Center to send an immediate message by e-mail to the White House.

Message

Dear Mr. President,

I join with many millions of U.S. citizens in condemning as morally intolerable the use of torture by our government, and in our name. The use of torture is antithetical to our nation’s cherished ideals, puts our own soldiers more at risk if they should become prisoners, and spreads hatred against American citizens.

U.S. Citizens' Signing Statement

We reject the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

We reject the fact that the act subjects legal residents of the United States, as well as foreign citizens living in their own countries, to summary arrest and indefinite detention with no hope of appeal.

We reject that the act gives the President the power to apply the label of “enemy combatant” to anyone he chooses.

We reject that the act repudiates a half-century of international precedent by allowing the President to decide on his own what abusive interrogation methods he considers permissible and that his decision can stay secret.

We reject that detainees in U.S. military prisons lose the basic right to challenge their imprisonment and that they can be held forever, with no access to a lawyer or to the courts.

We reject that the courts have no power to review any aspect of this new system, except verdicts by military tribunals and that the act limits appeals and bars legal actions based on the Geneva Conventions.

We reject that coerced evidence — evidence obtained through torture — is now permissible.

We reject that the definition of torture is unacceptably narrow and that the bill effectively eliminates the idea of rape as torture.

Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions hold dear. It degrades everyone involved – policymakers, perpetrators, and victims. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable. We reject the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

Background

President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act into law on Tuesday, October 17, in a White House ceremony while anti-torture activists conducted a protest demonstration across the street in Lafayette Park. Another anti-torture protest demonstration was held along an interstate highway in Stratford, Conn., by an interfaith group of religious leaders and people of faith, including many Unitarian Universalists. Read more about this demonstration at the Unitarian Universalist Association website.

The new law was proposed by Bush in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that ruled the administration’s plan for trying detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law.

The original proposal included a provision to allow the president to interpret a clause in the Geneva Conventions that proscribed the use of torture. Following an outcry by many congressional leaders and anti-torture activists, including UUSC’s Human Rights Defenders, that provision was removed but the "compromise" bill gives the president even more power authorize the use of torture and limit the rights of detainees to legal assistance and judicial review.

The law broadens the definition of "unlawful enemy combatant" to include those who "materially support hostilities against the United States." This could include individuals, including U.S. citizens, suspected of providing financial or other indirect support to terrorists.

UUSC thanks Rabbis for Human Rights – North America for it leadership in creating the 'signing statement.' Rabbis for Human Rights and UUSC are coordinating members of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.