CIA's "Torture Taxi" in the Spotlight

[Wind Dancer]

Standing Up Against Torture

-snip-

Kelly, a leader in the movement to stop the U.S. war on Iraq, said she got arrested because of a growing concern over the government "becoming increasingly blatant about its role in torture. People need to stand up before it becomes more risky."

Asked what she meant by that, she replied, "At this point here in the U.S., we don't face any of the risks of people who stood up against the Salvadoran death squads. We are perhaps inconvenienced, but there are no massacres, our family members aren't being killed. That's why we need to stand up now."

What worries her most, she explained, are not reports of torture coming out of U.S.-run prisons in Iraq or secret sites around the world. "The U.S. has always excepted itself from international norms of human decencybut now some are starting to say, 'It's ok. We're the U.S. We have to do anything to make sure we're never attacked again.' It's disturbing to see how tolerant we've become."

"You hear people say, 'Well, Saddam was a lot worse than the CIA so we have to do it in order to keep people like Saddam from hurting people.' That is really faulty thinking," the Nobel Peace Prize nominee added. "We are using some of the exact same torture cells Saddam used! When we apprehend Iraqis they might be good guys, but by the time they leave after three days, they're bad guys, is how one soldier explained it. And look at the woman bomber arrested in Jordan. She had three brothers killed in Iraq and the person she married was held three days and tortured. If we think terrifying people is a way to build security, we're misguiding ourselves in a terrible way. Real protection lies in building just and fair relationships."

-more-

http://www.counterpunch.org/ferner11222005.html

[Vidar]

1. Kathy Kelly is a courageous woman, & her message is right on:

"People need to stand up before it becomes more risky... At this point here in the U.S., we don't face any of the risks of people who stood up against the Salvadoran death squads. We are perhaps inconvenienced, but there are no massacres, our family members aren't being killed. That's why we need to stand up now." It's time to overthrow or at least hopple our tyrranical government before they grab any more power, not the time to reject potential allies such as McCain.

[Wind Dancer]

2. Absolutely, it's a profound statement we must not ignore.

If people think it can't happen here, they haven't been paying attention. It's not very comforting to know "death-squad" Negroponte is running the National Intelligence.