No Exceptions - For a Clear Rule on Torture

Some say that the President should decide if "extraordinary circumstances" justify torture. Unfortunately, our government cannot say that torture is acceptable some of the time and still claim that it is providing clear guidance to our troops and that it supports American values.

Officials say abuse is prohibited, but no one seems to know what that means. Our troops in the field say they don't know and dozens of suspicious deaths are under investigation. As 29 senior retired US officers (700K PDF), including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. John Shalikashvili, wrote: "It is now apparent that the abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and elsewhere took place in part because our men and women in uniform were given ambiguous instruction...". In a letter to Senator McCain, Captain Ian Fishback, a West Point graduate who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, said that he tried for 17 months to get answers about what the rules were - and failed.

When our forces in the field are pushed to torture and abuse prisoners, they need to know that they are being encouraged or ordered to do things that cannot be legal.  They need a clear "bright line" that they can rely on. That is why senior military leaders, human rights organizations and Senator McCain would oppose provisions if they included a Presidential "waiver."