Amnesty International USA's Blog
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Ask Congress to find out how the U.S. became a nation that tortures.
- Posted on 02.10.09
"The era of responsibility is not never making mistakes, it's owning up to them and trying to make sure you do not repeat them."
– President Obama, February 3rd
Our chance to learn from, fix and never repeat the policies that brought us torture, illegal detention, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib is passing us by.
President Obama has already issued orders to close Guantanamo Bay and end torture. Though the orders are a major step in the right direction, they don't tell us how the world's most powerful democracy chose to renounce human rights and the rule of law.
Right now, conventional wisdom in Washington says that Obama's executive orders to close Guantanamo and end torture are good enough, that the public doesn't have the appetite for an investigation into how we became a nation that tortures. They think you and I don't really care enough, that we're only interested in moving forward.
What they don't know is how scared we are at the thought of repeating the horrors of the last eight years. We all want to move on, but you and I know that moving on means making sure we learn from our mistakes.
That's why we're asking you to add your name today to our letter to Congress demanding a full investigation. We need to show Washington that the public wants our nation to take responsibility for past mistakes and that we do have the stomach for a full investigation.
While the Obama administration is still in transition, world leaders are watching and wondering whether the United States will take responsibility and investigate what really happened. Some nations, like Iran, are jockeying their position, telling the world that the new Obama administration is weak for agreeing to bilateral talks. Getting to the bottom of how we became torturers and holding criminals accountable will demonstrate the exact opposite.
Our cause for accountability is being championed by a handful of brave Senators and Representatives.
Last week, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) spoke about the damage done to our system of government and the need for accountability: ". . .because it was so sophisticated and because a lot of it was under the radar, it's all the more important an object lesson for voters, for citizens, for other countries that it be publicly aired what was done, why it was done, what it means for democracy."
Help support our champions in Congress, and add your name to our letter today.
As you read this, we’re working directly with this group of champions and will ask them to take your comments, and read them aloud on the floor of the Senate and House.
These comments on the floor of both houses, together with thousands of signatures onto our letter, can change the conventional wisdom in Washington. But this will only happen if enough of us act.
Sign our letter to Congress demanding a full, independent investigation and then PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=11732&tr=y&auid=4493980
We have only a short window of opportunity to fully uncover how the horrors of the past eight years happened.
Let's show them that the public does have the stomach, even when the politicians do not.
Sincerely,
Njambi Good
Director, Counter Terror with Justice Campaign
P.S. If you have any questions about how an independent investigation might work, why we're making this one of our key asks during Obama's 100 days, or anything else related to accountability, submit your question to our online chat which will happen Friday February 13th, at 1pm EST.
P.P.S. And stay tuned: next week we're organizing a national call-in week to demand accountability. We'll ask you to call your member of Congress, and we're working on a new tool that will make it super easy.
Related causes: Human Rights
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