Where Do You Stand on Torture?

By DOUG PIKE FOR CONGRESS

Dear [Supporter],

Since I started running for Congress earlier this spring, Pennsylvanians I’ve met have had a great deal to say about our shellshocked economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, our energy woes, our patchwork health-coverage system, and other challenges.

One issue getting a great deal of discussion lately is torture. Before I can ask you to support me as I run for Congress, I want you to know exactly where I stand on this important issue.

I will always tell you where I stand on controversial issues — please click here to join my campaign.

You may have read that John Yoo, who wrote George W. Bush’s wrong-headed rationale for torture, is now writing an opinion column for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The controversy over his role at The Inquirer, where I wrote editorials for 14 years, is an opportunity to restate a few self-evident truths on a matter of national security and fundamental values:

Torture is illegal, and it is wrong. The U.S. government must not torture people who are locked up as enemy combatants. Covering a prisoner’s nose and mouth with a cloth drenched with water — which simul ates drowning — is torture. Period. With John Yoo and Dick Cheney whispering in his ear, George W. Bush got that wrong. President Obama and his key officials have renounced the Bush Administration’s lame rationalization of torture.

Torture isn’t just illegal and wrong. Stories about the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere have inflamed countless people into joining the Taliban and other terrorist groups. What’s more, our military leaders tell us that torture doesn’t work. What prisoners are willing to say under torture isn’t generally reliable. More sophisticated methods of interrogation yield better information that can truly protect the United States and our allies.

I have visited the drab prison in Hanoi where American POWs, including future Senator John McCain, were tortured daily for years during the Vietnam War. Sen. McCain has been an outspoken critic of the Bush policy on torture. He insists that — in dealing with our enemies — the United States abide by the law and live up to our principles.

On this vital matter of national security, American values, and the rule of law, Barack Obama and John McCain have been right, while George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and John Yoo have been fundamentally wrong.

Over the course of the campaign, there will be more issues to discuss and many opportunities to work together to change Washington. I hope that I can count on your support in the coming months — please click here to join my campaign.

Sincerely,

PS: If you haven’t already, please sign up to receive email updates from my campaign by clicking here. If you have already signed up please forward this email to three friends and encourage them to sign-up, too.

Paid for by Pike for Congress

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