Political Quotes

“The words ``torture,'' ``cruelty'' and ``abuse'' elicit images of draconian and brutal dictatorship. These words are reserved for the worst of human rights offenders. It should never include the United States of America. The United States of America and the values we reflect abhor human rights violators and uphold human rights. No circumstance whatsoever justifies torture. No emergencies, no state of war, no level of political instability. According to Secretary Powell, in his letter to Senator McCain in support of the Senator's amendment, ``The troops need to hear from Congress, which has an obligation to speak to such matters under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.'' We have irrefutable evidence of widespread use of unlawful interrogation techniques by American interrogators at Abu Ghraib and other locations. This has been absolutely disastrous to our credibility and our reputation as a Nation that was built on the sanctity of individual rights. We have a legal and moral and ethical obligation to uphold the values of the Geneva Convention and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Furthermore, torture, cruelty and abuse are not effective methods of interrogation. Torture may not yield reliable actionable information and can lead to false confessions. And we have an example of that not long ago, prior to the war. Torture may not yield information quickly. Torture does not advance our goals.…”