In June 2010, Human Rights First organized a series of meetings with eleven congressional candidates from Pennsylvania and Delaware—much like our campaign led in 2008 with Presidential candidates in Iowa and New Hampshire.

National political commentators looked to Pennsylvania in the days surrounding its primary election as a bellwether for November, and the group’s meetings generated interest among those monitoring how national security issues will play out during the campaign.

While the group was in Philadelphia, former President Bush remarked that he would waterboard again—a reminder that the issue is not dead. The group reacted quickly to condemn the President’s flippant remarks.

The group then traveled to Illinois in August 2010, meeting with twelve congressional candidates, many of whom had not heard the facts on these important issues.

In December 2008, the retired generals and admirals met with Eric Holder, Obama’s pick to be attorney general, and Greg Craig, incoming White House counsel, and members of the group appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and CNN Live.

The next month, just two days into his term, President Obama signed executive orders ending torture and committing to close Guantánamo, flanked by members of the group. As he signed, he spoke about the group:

“The individuals who are standing behind me…came to both Joe and myself, and all the candidates, and made a passionate plea that we restore the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made this country great, even in the midst of war, even in dealing with terrorism. They’ve made an extraordinary impression on me.”
President Obama speaks of Human Rights First’s military coalition, January 23, 2009

Read the Executive Orders: on Guantánamo, detention policy, interrogation policy, and the al-Marri case. Watch the signing.

These executive orders were a willful departure from the Bush Administration’s polices of torture, unjust trials, and prolonged detention without criminal charge. However, a campaign of disinformation followed, aiming to block Guantánamo’s closure, oppose federal court prosecution of terrorism suspects, and drive fear (not facts) into the debate.

The group of retired military leaders returned to the forefront of that debate to reemphasize the importance of using the rule of law as the compass guiding American foreign policy.

In fall 2009, Human Rights First organized a number of high-level meetings, including with Attorney General Eric Holder, as well as meetings with the public and the press to show their support for President Obama’s decision to close Guantánamo, and to encourage “responsible leadership” and denounce “the politics of fear.”

The military leaders also pushed back on the Dick and Liz Cheney’s scaremongering and “nonsense” arguments in meetings and major press outlets.

Watch our video on Youtube to hear the military leaders speak out against the politics of fear in their own words.

Elect To End Torture ’08

Our Elect to End Torture ’08 campaign brought these military leaders to closed-door meetings with eight of the candidates running for office. Many cited the meetings repeatedly in the press as having influenced their decisions on torture.

“I spent a couple of hours with 12 different general officers from the Navy and the Army and the Marine Corps. It was a very fascinating discussion. I share the same view that Colin Powell does, that every general officer that I know in the military shares, and that is that when you engage in torture [you don't get reliable information and violate military code].”
—Governor Huckabee in Fox News interview after meeting with this group

“As a matter of policy [torture] cannot be American policy period. I met with those same three and four-star retired generals, and their principal point – in addition to the values that are so important for our country to exhibit – is that there is very little evidence that it works.”
—Senator Clinton changed her position, in interview with Tim Russert, when asked about the “ticking time bomb” scenario

We also held public events in key states during the campaign, aiming to draw attention to the issue and the facts against torture. We held panel discussions at universities in Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida.

Human Rights First and the group went to both Democratic and Republican national conventions:

• At the DNC in Denver, we co-hosted a reception with Madeleine K. Albright, former Secretary of State, Richard Danzig, former Secretary of the Navy, Richard Holbrooke, a top-ranking American diplomat, William J. Perry, former Secretary of Defense, and Timothy J. Roemer, former Member of Congress.
• At the RNC in St. Paul, we co-hosted a reception with Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Robert Carl “Bud” McFarlane, National Security Adviser to President Reagan.

The group called for the inclusion of strong anti-torture language in both party platforms. They wrote:

“This should not be a partisan issue. We are asking the platform committees of both major parties to send a clear message that the next President of the United States – no matter who he is – will uphold our obligations under the Geneva Conventions and return the United States to its long-standing and proper role as a world leader on human rights.”

In 2004, photographs from Abu Ghraib were released publicly. Human Rights First brought together this group of retired military leaders to underline how policies of torture and official cruelty were harming the country and the military.

The group began writing letters to policymakers testifying on the Hill, and speaking out through the media. Admiral Hutson’s testimony during Alberto Gonzalez’s confirmation hearings was cited by senators who voted against his confirmation.