Override the President's Veto

On Friday morning, I attended a mini-conference on ending torture, organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) in connection with the Interfaith Peace Witness held by the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership. While there was some encouraging news, based on evidence of a growing faith-based movement to oppose torture, we were also faced with a start "realpolitik" presentation by former U.S. intelligence operative Ray McGovern about the state of the nation on this critical issue.

The following day, March 8th, President Bush vetoed legislation that would have taken a strong step forward in making a national commitment to opposing torture, stating that the bill "would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror — the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives."

This requires immediate action — please join FOR in calling on Congress to override this dismaying veto. Below is the message from NRCAT — please contact your representative right away, since a vote will be held as early as tomorrow:

Dear Friends:

As you probably know, on Saturday, March 8, President Bush vetoed H.R. 2082, an important piece of anti-torture legislation that would have banned the use of waterboarding, stress positions, induced hypothermia, and other so-called "harsh" interrogation techniques by requiring all U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, to abide by the restrictions in the Army Field Manual while conducting interrogations. H.R. 2082 was passed by a majority of both houses of Congress.

Sometime this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow, the U.S. House will vote on whether or not to override the President's veto. It is very difficult to override a veto (it requires a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress), so the attempt to override may not be successful. That said, we want to make every effort to convince as many Members of Congress as possible to vote for the override.

Please ask your constituents to call their Representatives in Congress and tell them that they would like them to vote to override the President's veto of H.R. 2082, the Intelligence Authorization bill. America must make it clear to both its own people and to the world that it is a moral country that does not engage in torture. Your constituents can contact their Representatives by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202)224-3121 and asking to speak with their Representatives.

Thank you for your efforts to end U.S.-sponsored torture.

Linda Gustitus, President, NRCAT
Richard Killmer, Executive Director, NRCAT

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