Prosecute torturers.On behalf of the members of the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC TASSC The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition TASSC Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition TASSC Teachers and Students for School Civility ), each member of which is a survivor of torture, thank you for the articles on U.S. involvement in torture in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and abroad ("Abu Ghraib See Abu Ghraib prison and Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The city of Abu Ghraib (BGN/PCGN romanization: Abū Ghurayb; أبو غريب in Arabic) in the Anbar Governorate of Iraq is located 32 kilometres (20 mi) west of , U.S.A," by Anne-Marie Cusac, and "America's Amnesia," by Matthew Rothschild, July issue). The struggle against torture requires a confrontation with the impunity those who order, permit, and facilitate it grant to themselves. For this reason, TASSC has joined with the World Organization for Human Rights/USA in a "Criminal Complaint Seeking the Investigation and Prosecution of U.S. Officials Implicated im·pli·cate tr.v. im·pli·cat·ed, im·pli·cat·ing, im·pli·cates 1. To involve or connect intimately or incriminatingly: evidence that implicates others in the plot. 2. in the Torture of Detainees." Submitted to the Attorney General, it notes that the probable involvement of high-ranking Justice Department officials in "formulating or encouraging the unlawful use of torture" calls for the appointment of a special attorney to carry out the investigations and any prosecutions that may follow. Included among those cited for investigation are familiar names: Donald Rumsfeld, Stephen Cambone Stephen A. Cambone (born 1951) was the first United States Under-Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, a post created in March 2003. He was said to be very close to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as the Pentagon's top man in intelligence. , George Tenet, Alberto Gonzales For the New York Yankees infielder, see . Alberto Gonzales (born August 4 1955) is an American jurist who served as the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. , Generals Ricardo Sanchez For the football (soccer) player, see . Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez (born 1953) is a retired United States Army general who served as the commander of coalition forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. and Geoffrey Miller, John Ashcroft himself, and others. The complaint is a challenge to the current, comfortable in-house investigations that are under the direction of those who themselves should be investigated. While this complaint is not the final answer to impunity, it is recognition that high-ranking officials may well be the worst kind of law-violators and therefore must be called to account not simply by the usual insistence on their resignations but by subjecting them to criminal prosecution. Since the Attorney General is unlikely to act, we who are torture survivors hope a substantial segment of the public will demand such accountability. Sister Dianna Ortiz Executive Director Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International Washington, D. C. |
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