After the
House Armed Services Committee passed HR 6054 (the Bush/Cheney Retroactive Torture Definition and Legalization Act) out of committee by a vote of 52 to 8 last week, this week the Senate Armed Services Committee produced
its own alternative version.
Both of these pieces of legislation are seriously flawed, and both need to be stopped. Right now, before the next House committee considers HR 6054, we have to let legislators know that voting for HR 6054 could make them international war criminals.
According to
Thomas (re HR 6054):
Latest Major Action: 9/15/2006 House Committee on International Relations Granted an extension for further consideration ending not later than Sept. 18, 2006.
Monday, this committee's members must have their offices plastered with warnings that voting for this legislation makes them war criminals. We must not allow them to plead ignorance.
If your Congressperson is on the Internatinal Relations Committee, phone/e-mail him/her before noon on Monday and let him/her know that you would consider the act of voting for HR 6054 to be a war crime, just as Professor Paust does.
*** UPDATE Sept 19, 2006 ***
Since Saturday, HR 6054's status has been updated with these two items:
9/18/2006 6:09pm:
House Committee on Judiciary Granted an extension for further consideration ending not later than Sept. 22, 2006.
9/18/2006 6:09pm:
House Committee on International Relations Granted an extension for further consideration ending not later than Sept. 22, 2006.
The fact that action in the International Relations Committee has been delayed for another three days since Saturday indicates a rare streak of resistance in the rubber-stamp Republican House to this foul legislation. If you have a Congressperson either on the House Committee on International Relations or the House Committee on Judiciary, you have until end of business Sept. 21 to plaster their offices with warnings that voting for this legislation makes them war criminals.
Even if your Congressperson is not on one of those committees, write and/or call anyway! Let them know that not speaking out loudly against this legislation, even if they don't vote for it, makes them accessories to war crimes.
We must not allow them to plead ignorance this time, as they did with the so-called P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act.
Thanks to mrcoder for the sample letter in comments that you can model yours on, if you chose.
**** UPDATE Wednesday 9/20/06 ****
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday rejected the Bush administration's proposed ground rules for interrogation and trial of enemy combatants captured in the war on terrorism, defeating a bill that was approved last week by the Armed Services Committee.
Thanks to TPMMuckraker for the good news! Keep up the pressure, folks!