Who Supports the Anti-Torture Amendment

Captain Ian Fishback, veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan

Earlier this year, Captain Ian Fishback, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, and a veteran of 17 months ofcombat in Afghanistan and Iraq sent a letter to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). In the letter, he described how he struggled to get answers from his chain of command to a basic question: what standards apply to the treatment of enemy detainees? It is a good question. Unfortunately, Captain Fishback found no answers from his chain of command. With his courage, Captain Fishback fueled the movement to end the cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment of those is U.S. custody. (Read Captain Fishback's letter.)

John McCain

Senator John McCain is the principal sponsor of the Senate measure banning torture.

Senator McCain is a Vietnam veteran who spent eight years as a prisoner of war. Over the course of his time as a POW, John McCain was periodically subjected to torture. In 1986, John McCain was elected to the United States Senate and he has been there ever since.

Listen to John McCain explain in his own words why he is leading the fight to ban torture...

"America is the only country in the world that asserts a legal right to engage in cruel and inhuman treatment..."

Here is an excerpt from John McCain from a recent speech he delivered in support of his amendment banning torture:

"America stands for a moral mission, one of freedom and democracy and human rights at home and abroad. We are better than these terrorists, and we will we win. I have said it before but it bears repeating: The enemy we fight has no respect for human life or human rights. They don't deserve our sympathy. But this isn't about who they are. This is about who we are. These are the values that distinguish us from our enemies, and we can never, never allow our enemies to take those values away."

Who else supports the Anti-Torture Amendment to Ban Torture? Here's a short list...

REPUBLICANS
Senator John McCain and 45 other Republican Senators
Howard Baker, US Senator (R-TN) 1967-85
Nancy Kassebaum Baker, US Senator (R-KS) 1978-97
Warren Rudman, US Senator (R-NH) 1980-92

DEMOCRATS
Senator Harry Reid and 42 other Democratic Senators
Lee Hamilton, US Congressman (D-IN) 1965-99, Vice Chair, 9/11 Commission
Gary Hart, US Senator (D-CO) 1975-87
Sam Nunn, US Senator (D-GA) 1972-96

FORMER MILITARY LEADERS
Joseph Hoar, General, USMC (Ret.)
John Shalikashvili, General, USA (Ret.)
Donn A. Starry, General, USA (Ret.)
Ron Adams, Lieutenant General, USA (Ret.)
Robert G. Gard, Jr., Lieutenant General, USA (Ret.)
Jay M. Garner, Lieutenant General, USA (Ret.)
Lee F. Gunn, Vice Admiral, USN (Ret.)
Claudia J. Kennedy, Lieutenant General, USA (Ret.)
Charles Otstott, Lieutenant General, USA (Ret.)
Jack Shanahan, Vice Admiral, USN (Ret.)
Eugene Fox, Major General, USA (Ret.)
John L. Fugh, Major General, USA (Ret.)
Donald J. Guter, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.)
Fred E. Haynes, Major General, USMC (Ret.)
John D. Hutson, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.)
Melvyn Montano, Major General, ANG (Ret.)
Robert H. Scales, Major General, USA (Ret.)
Michael J. Scotti, Major General, USA (Ret.)
David M. Brahms, Brigadier General, USMC (Ret.)
James Cullen, Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
Evelyn P. Foote, Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
David R. Irvine, Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
Richard O'Meara, Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
John K. Schmitt, Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
Stephen N. Xenakis, Brigadier General, USA (Ret.)
Douglas "Pete" Peterson, Ambassador/Former Vietnam POW, USAF (Ret.)
Frederick C. Baldock, Former Vietnam POW Commander, USN (Ret.)
Phillip N. Butler, Former Vietnam POW Commander, USN (Ret.)

FORMER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Colin Powell, Former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State, 2001-05
Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State 1997-2001
Samuel Berger, National Security Advisor 1997-2001
Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor 1977-81
Warren Christopher, Secretary of State 1993-97
Lawrence Eagleburger, Secretary of State 1992-93
Thomas Kean, Governor New Jersey 1982-1990, Chairman, 9/11 Commission
Rita Hauser, Chair, International Peace Academy 1992-present
Carla Hills, US Trade Representative 1989-93
Richard Holbrooke, Ambassador to UN 1999-2001
Anthony Lake, National Security Advisor 1993-97
Robert McFarlane, National Security Advisor 1983-85
Donald McHenry, Ambassador to UN 1979-81
William Perry, Secretary of Defense 1994-97
Thomas Pickering, Undersecretary of State 1997-2000
Ted Sorenson, White House Special Counsel 1961-63
John C. Whitehead, Deputy Secretary of State1985-88
Frank Wisner, Undersecretary of Defense 1993-94

Selected Newspaper Editorials Supporting the Anti-Torture Amendment