Bush Policies Led to Abuse in Iraq

The torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was the  predictable result of the Bush administrations decision to circumvent international law, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

The 38-page report,  "The Road to Abu Ghraib", examines how the Bush administration adopted a deliberate policy of permitting illegal interrogation techniques - and then spent two years covering up or ignoring reports of torture and other abuse by U.S. troops.

According to Human Rights Watch, administration policies created the climate for Abu Ghraib in three ways:

First, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the Bush administration decided that the war on terror permitted the United States to circumvent the restraints of international law. The Geneva Conventions were sidestepped as  obsolete.

Second, the United States employed coercive methods to inflict pain and humiliation on detainees to soften them up  for interrogation, i.e., exposing them to extremes of heat, cold, noise and light; depriving them of sleep and light for prolonged periods; hooding them; and holding them naked.

Third, until the publication of the Abu Ghraib photographs, Bush administration officials took at best a  see no evil, hear no evil approach to reports of detainee mistreatment. From the earliest days of the war in Afghanistan and the occupation of Iraq, the U.S. government has covered up or failed to act on repeated, serious allegations of torture and abuse.

The Bush administration has denied having a policy to torture or abuse detainees.

Human Rights Watch called on President Bush to provide evidence for those denials by publicly releasing all relevant government documents.

Human Rights Watch also urged the administration to detail the steps being taken to ensure that these abusive practices do not continue, and to prosecute vigorously all those responsible for ordering or condoning this abuse.

For the full Human Rights Watch report go to http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/iraq8785.htm

ACTIONS

1. Download and read the full Human Rights Report  http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/iraq8785.htm
2. Write or call your Senator and/or Congressperson. (A Suggested letter follows)

The Honorable (Full Name)
United States SenateHouse of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator/Representative(Last Name):

Recently the organization, Human Rights Watch, uncovered a detailed report linking the Bush administration with the abuses and use of torture in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The report is titled  "The Road to Abu Ghraib." We encourage you to read this report and to distribute this to your congressional colleagues. You can download the report at the Human Rights Watch web-site http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/09/iraq8785.htm

I am horrified, as are many in the international community, to learn of the U.S. Government responsibility in promoting policies that encourage the violations of human rights. As a Catholic citizen, I am reminded of the following principles:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 5
 No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

United States Constitution: Amendment VIII.
 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Gaudium et Spes: The Church in the Modern World, 1965, Second Vatican Council, #27
Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a supreme dishonor to the Creator.

Based on these precepts I call for absolute transparency and accountability from all government agencies considered responsible for these violations. You are urged to support your colleagues in the Senate Judiciary Committee in demanding that the Attorney General, John Ashcroft, release all the memorandums related to this issue so it can be made public. Lastly, I urge you to take steps to ensure that these abusive practices do not continue.

Sincerely,