April 28, 2003
Letter to Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Under Secretary DuBois
Letter to Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Under Secretary DuBois
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
April 28, 2003
Secretary Rumsfeld
Deputy Under Secretary DuBois
The Pentagon
Washington, DC
Dear Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Under Secretary DuBois:
As a former Marine and lover of America, I am writing to express my concern regarding allegations that U.S. forces have dishonored their uniforms by mistreating security detainees who are being interrogated in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Regarding these allegations, I urge you to take the following actions:
1. Issue a strong, clear public statement emphasizing that U.S. law prohibits U.S. officials from using any form of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
2. Make public the findings of the U.S. military investigation into the deaths of two Afghan detainees who died last December while in custody at the interrogation center at Bagram in Afghanistan. If the investigation concludes that the deaths of these two detainees were in any way linked to ill-treatment by U.S. personnel, the responsible individuals should be prosecuted to the full extent of U.S. law.
3. Issue a clear public statement prohibiting U.S. officials from rendering any detainees to countries such as Egypt, Morocco, or Jordan, where they are likely to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
4. Guarantee representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross full access to all detainees in U.S. military custody.
I urge you to give these important matters immediate attention. We cannot continue to claim the moral high ground if we are willing to sink to the tactics of brutality. Help us retain the moral high ground by ensuring we treat those in our custody with dignity and in accordance with appropriate treaties and conventions we’ve signed. Do the right thing Mr. Secretary.
Sincerely,
James Landrith