Election day mail. Catching up on terror letters.

[TayTay]

Shit, I had forgotten I even sent a letter. Senator, thanks for the reply.

November 7,
2006

Dear Ms. Tay:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the
mistreatment and alleged torture of prisoners
held in Iraq and other parts of the world by
the U.S. government. I share your concern
about the treatment of these prisoners and of
the slow and inappropriate response from the
Bush Administration.

First and foremost, I would like to commend
the vast majority of American troops that
have done an outstanding job in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The actions of a few overshadow
the tremendous good work that thousands of
soldiers are doing every day in Iraq and all
over the world.

To win the War on Terror, the United States
must stand for the rule of law in all things.
Regrettably, we have seen evidence of torture
and abuse of detainees in American custody.
Such actions are beneath contempt. They
undermine America's moral authority and
denigrate all the good we do in the world.

In October of 2005 I supported an amendment
introduced by Senator McCain to the Defense
Department appropriations bill that would
require all DOD personnel to adhere to the
Army Field Manuel which follows the Geneva
Convention guidelines in treatment of
detainees. It would prohibit the "cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment
of persons under the detention, custody or
control of the United States Government."
These restrictions would also extend to any
non military government agency, international
agencies or any other interrogator that
endeavored to gain access to a detainee in
military control. This amendment had
bipartisan support and passed the Senate
decisively, 90-9. After negotiations between
Congress and the White House the provision
was signed into law on December 30th, 2005. I
noted with concern the president's assertion
of executive power in his signing statement
which suggested that the Administration may
not fully implement the legislation.

When S.3930, the Military Commissions Act of
2006 came up in the Senate I had hoped that
the legislation would afford our military the
tools they need to fight the war on terror
without breaking with intrinsic American
values. However after only hours of debate
the Senate voted on a bill that included
vague language, no congressional oversight
and destroyed the tradition of habeas corpus.
I opposed this legislation because it will
make us less safe and less secure.
Unfortunately it did pass and the president
signed it into law. Legal challenges have
already been drafted and I am confident that
in the end the courts will find it
unconstitutional.

You may be certain that I will continue to
monitor the progress of these court
challenges as well as investigations into
prisoner abuse. It is imperative that the
Administration be held accountable for their
actions. Thank you again for taking the time
to share your views with me on this important
matter.


Sincerely,

John F. Kerry
United States Senator

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Thanks Senator. I appreciate the feedback.