Mr. President:
Impunity is the most grievous aspect of government-sanctioned abuse. How many torturers walk among us? How many faces we see every day once burned their images into the eyes of suffering persons in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Bosnia, and other places still kept secret?
War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity have stained every federal administration since at least the 1980s. Such atrocities as death squads, depleted uranium munitions, white phosphorus, the practice of "rendition," and deliberate targeting of civilian populations demand objective attention and elimination -- and there are other abuses rooted in the past that remain unacknowledged and unremedied.
The United States of America is a State Party to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Article 2, Clause 3 of this legally-binding treaty states: "3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture."
Should some claim that the abuses constitute merely cruel or degrading treatment, Article 16, Clause 1 reminds us: "1. Each State Party shall undertake to prevent in any territory under its jurisdiction other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment which do not amount to torture as defined in article I, when such acts are committed by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. In particular, the obligations contained in articles 10, 11, 12 and 13 shall apply with the substitution for references to torture of references to other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
Article 2, Section 3 of the US Constitution instructs the President to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."
Government-sanctioned cruelty and the coverup thereof are not minor issues. Are you part of the solution or part of the problem? I submit that by refusing to prosecute criminals, you are establishing a pernicious, and impeachable, precedent.
Mr. President, Dag Hammarskjold wrote: "He who would keep his garden tidy does not reserve a place for weeds." In a previous post here, I expressed the fear that yours might become just one more administration of torturers and cover-up artists. You have confirmed those fears, and I am very, very angry. Persons acting under color of law and "national security" have grievously and repeatedly violated my Fourth Amendment rights with impunity for at least a quarter century. These abuses have continued, and even intensified, since your inauguration. I demand that such acts cease immediately.
I voted for you in the hope that you might restore the Rule of Law and assure to all persons the equal protection of the laws. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I cannot continue to support a president who will not protect my Constitutional rights.
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