An Open Letter to Congress

I sent the following to my congressional representatives:

I write to condemn the Congress for its failure to properly oversee the CIA, allowing the CIA to continue to torture its prisoners, men who are by definition innocent of any crime, for they received no trial. I am sickened by this whole affair. The only CIA agent brave enough to speak out against the program, John Kiriakou, was imprisoned and silenced.

The hypocrisy of those who defend the CIA torture program is revolting and turns my stomach. How can anyone speak of the bravery of our military forces when we know they inflict degrading punishment on the powerless and the weak? How can we debate the practical effectiveness of torture when we know its moral effects on the torturers and tortured alike? How can anyone try to excuse it by claiming that Americans were afraid of another terrorist attack? We’re Americans, bravery is one of our highest ideals. The men of Massachusetts who died at Gettysburg to end the torture of African Americans slaves knew there was no excuse for brutalizing another human being. They mastered their fear and faced down the torturers in battle.

I look to you, as my congressional representative, to have the courage not simply to speak out against this program, but also to do everything in your power to end it, and to bring justice to its victims. Failure to do so makes you morally complicit in torture committed in the name of your nation and on your behalf.