Write Your Senator, Congressman and The President

Sent to John Warner:\
Dear Senator Warner,\
Even though I’m in the “other” party, I’ve always respected you as a moderate and as a man of reason. It is with that sense of respect that I e-mail you today, requesting your help.\
It has come out in recent weeks that not only have our armed services used white phosphorus on the battlefield: a horrific munition, but we’ve set up “black site” secret prisons where we torture terrorism suspects.\
Torture is against US law (see: Report of the United States to the UN Committee against Torture, October 15, 1999, UN Doc. CAT/C/28/Add.5, February 9, 2000, para. 6.). It seems that on more than one occasion, that law has been broken, commands given at the highest levels of the Executive branch. There is no exemption, no provision for exigent circumstances (see the above reference).\
I’m the son of a twenty-three year Air Force veteran, and I grew up under the threat of terrorist attack while we were stationed in Germany in the early eighties. I grew up afraid of the Russians. I am proud to be an American, but today, I am ashamed.\
I’m ashamed that our government has fallen so low as to endorse, and try to redefine torture and rationalize it away in the name of national security. I wonder where the outrage is, and why no one in a position of authority has been held accountable.\
Our own Vice President has lobbied the Senate to exempt the CIA from torture, and although our own President said this week that “we don’t do torture”, no one believes him.\
If we can impeach Bill Clinton for lying about an affair with an intern, where are the articles of impeachment for Dick Cheney, who obviously condones torture?\
Your own leadership wants to investigate who leaked the existence of the “black sites”, but not the black sites themselves. I hope you can help. This is an abomination and a black mark on our country. We’re the land of the free and the home of the brave. Torture should be beyond the pale.\
Thank you for your time,\
Kevin Lawver