Let's Say No to Torture, Once and for All - Op/Ed

Let's Say No to Torture, Once and for All

Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008 - 12:30 AM

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By DAVID P. GUSHEE AND STEVEN N. XENAKIS

WASHINGTON Today an unprecedented coalition of religious, political, and military leaders are releasing a document expressing our shared rejection of torture by or in the name of the United States. Our "Declaration of Principles for a Presidential Executive Order on Prisoner Treatment, Torture, and Cruelty" unequivocally rejects the torture and cruel treatment of prisoners in the "war on terror," and affirms six core moral principles that we believe must govern United States policy on prisoner treatment. This statement marks the most decisive leadership-level repudiation of our government's recent use of torture and other abusive interrogation and detention policies. We are saying no to torture, once and for all.

Our declaration asks the president of the United States to issue an Executive Order based on the following six principles:

The Golden Rule principle affirms that our nation will not use any methods of interrogation that we would not find acceptable if used against Americans.

One national standard means that all U.S. personnel and agencies will apply the same standards for interrogation; currently, the best expression of a reasonably humane standard is found in the U.S. Army Field Manual, which explicitly bans a number of cruel interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding.

Adherence to the rule of law requires that the U.S. will acknowledge all prisoners to our courts and the Red Cross, rejects any use of secret prisons or the mysterious disappearance of prisoners, and requires fully adequate judicial processes for detainees to prove their innocence.

The duty to protect means a reaffirmation not just of our own rejection of torture but of our responsibility to protect people in our custody from being tortured by other countries after transfer from our government.

The principle of checks and balances reaffirms the legitimate role of the legislative and judicial branches of the federal government in understanding, reviewing, and in some cases setting detention policies.

Finally, the emphasis on clarity and accountability means that all U.S. personnel involved in relating to prisoners must operate with total clarity as to the legal rules under which they do so and with full understanding that all who violate those rules will be held accountable, regardless of rank or position.

AS SIGNATORIES -- a Christian ethicist and a retired Army general/psychiatrist -- we find that reviewing these six principles for a Presidential Executive Order brings both grief and joy: grief, because these principles are so very elementary, and should never have been in question, and joy, because their reaffirmation will mark a major step forward for the United States. We will return to the constitutional and moral principles that are so fundamentally important for our national life and for our standing in the world.

The two of us signed this declaration for reasons that go beyond matters of military policy, international relations, or even the best interests of our nation. For us the issues are fundamentally moral and religious. Every human being is a person of immeasurable worth, made in the image of God, and a bearer of an intrinsic dignity. This dignity must be respected in all circumstances, especially when we are most tempted to violate it. The torture and dehumanization of human beings violates their God-given dignity and offends the Creator who made them.

It happens that the drafters of this declaration believe that torture and dehumanization are also unwise and ineffective. The so-called intelligence is unreliable, and acting on the misleading information endangers lives and missions. We think the evidence bears this out. But even if it did not, our view would still be the same. There are certain things that decent, civilized people do not do to anyone, for any reason, under any circumstance.

We believe that Americans in their hearts understand that torture violates our national soul and our most cherished values. We are hopeful that millions will join us in pressing for adoption of the principles in our declaration.

The Rev. Dr. David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, where he is based in the McAfee School of Theology. Contact him at feedback@davidpgushee.com. Brig. Gen. Stephen N. Xenakis, USA Ret., served 28 years in the U.S. Army as a medical corps officer. He is the director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington. Contact him at snxenakis@hotmail.com.

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