Please Sign the ACLU's TORTURE IS UN-AMERICAN PETITION

[Up2Late]

<http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TIU_TortureisUnAmerican>

(Here's what the Petition says, please go to the link above to sigh the petition.)

TO: Condoleezza Rice
U.S. Secretary of State

Dear Madam Secretary:

Torture. Government kidnapping. Indefinite detention.

These are not ideas we associate with the United States of America. They do not represent who we are as Americans. By promoting and condoning these practices in our military and intelligence forces, your administration has broken faith with the American values of freedom and fairness.

Last week marked two years since the world first saw the terrible images from Abu Ghraib prison. As human rights experts from around the world gather in Geneva to condemn torture, the U.S. must stand by its own time-honored principles.

Widespread evidence, including over 100,000 government documents released to the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act, shows a systemic pattern of torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody.

These acts go against our most cherished American ideals. When our leaders promote torture and fail to hold themselves accountable for illegal abuses, they no longer speak for me or for the America in which I believe.

We demand our country back.

To restore humanity, to defend the rule of law and to end one of the saddest chapters in American history, our government must:

*
* reverse the policies that permit torture and abuse, and honor the universal obligations that prohibit torture
* hold accountable all individuals, regardless of rank or high office, who have authorized, condoned or committed torture or abuse
* end the practice of secret C.I.A. kidnappings and the transport of individuals to secret detention facilities or to countries where torture is common
* grant full access at detention facilities to the Red Cross, human rights experts and legal representatives
* appoint an outside special counsel to investigate and prosecute as necessary all government officials who developed or implemented the policies behind the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, Guantánamo, Iraq and in secret facilities
conduct a full review and assessment of torture and abuse in jails and other detention facilities at home and abroad

As an American, I will not stand for torture. The universal prohibition against torture must be upheld, and enforced, today.

(Sign the Petition at link)

<http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TIU_TortureisUnAmerican>

Tell the World: Torture is Un-American

Hi,

If you agree with me that torture, indefinite detention and secret government kidnapping are un-American, I think you’ll be interested in a petition that I just signed.

These practices should not represent the United States of America. But today, two years after the truth was exposed about government-sponsored torture and abuse, the U.S. has failed to reverse the policies that led to this abuse -- and has yet to hold a single high-ranking official responsible.

After the horrors of World War II, our leaders helped draft universal principles that prohibit torture and protect human rights. I hope you join me in defending that legacy by signing the petition and speaking out against torture.

Please join with thousands of others and sign the petition today: http://action.aclu.org/tortureisunamerican


Thanks.

Up2Late

[Up2Late]

1. kick n/t

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[Up2Late]

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