For Immediate Release: May 5, 2011
Washington, DC – A group of former national security officials sent a letter today to President Obama urging him “to make an unequivocal statement that torture is illegal, immoral, and un-American.”
The letter was signed by:
General Joseph Hoar, USMC (Ret.)
General Paul J. Kern, USA (Ret.)
General Charles Krulak, USMC (Ret.)
General David M. Maddox, USA (Ret.)
General Volney F. Warner, USA (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard Jr., USA (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, USN (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, USA (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Charles Otstott, USA (Ret.)
Lieutenant General Harry E. Soyster, USA (Ret.)
Major General John Batiste, USA (Ret.)
Major General Paul D. Eaton, USA (Ret.)
Major General Eugene Fox, USA (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Don Guter, JAGC, USN (Ret.)
Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, USN (Ret.)
Major General Melvyn Montano, USAF (Ret.)
Major General William L. Nash, USA (Ret.)
Major General Thomas J. Romig, USA (Ret.)
Major General Walter L. Stewart, Jr., USA (Ret.)
Brigadier General David M. Brahms, USMC (Ret.)
Brigadier General Stephen A. Cheney, USMC (Ret.)
Brigadier General James P. Cullen, USA (Ret.)
Brigadier General Evelyn P. Foote, USA (Ret.)
Brigadier General Gerald E. Galloway, USA (Ret.)
Brigadier General John H. Johns, USA (Ret.)
Brigadier General Richard O’Meara, USA (Ret.)
Brigadier General Murray G. Sagsveen, USA (Ret.)
Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, USA (Ret.)
Colonel Theodore B. Voorhees, USA (Ret.)
Colonel Lawrence B. Wilkerson, USA (Ret.)
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Smith, USAF (Ret.)
Bob Booker Baer
Vincent Cannistraro
Jack Cloonan
William J. Daugherty, PhD
Honorable Carl Ford
Honorable Peter W. Galbraith
Honorable John Hamre, PhD
Honorable J. Bennett Johnston
Honorable Jim Jones
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
John Norton Moore
Honorable Alberto Mora
Joe Navarro
Paul Pillar, PhD
Honorable William H. Taft IV
Jennifer L. Windsor
The letter is in response to claims made by some members of the previous Administration that torture and cruel treatment produced intelligence that eventually led to the capture and death of Osama bin Laden.
While there are conflicting reports on what intelligence was used and how it was obtained, the letter calls upon President Obama to take a firm stand against torture and cruel treatment and make clear these methods are always wrong and must not be part of our national security policy.
FULL TEXT OF LETTER:
May 5, 2011
The President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
In light of the debate following the death of Osama bin Laden, we urge you to make an unequivocal statement that torture is illegal, immoral, and un-American. The use of torture undermines our national security and intelligence gathering efforts. The United States must lead by our core principles and condemn torture.
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