Hold Candidates Accountable

As the 2008 election heats up, you have an opportunity to take action and help stop the use of torture by the CIA. As the candidates court your vote, you can ask them about their stand on torture.

As you may know, anti-torture legislation has come before the House and Senate and President Bush has threatened to veto such legislation, so our opportunity to turn the tide on the issue of torture may have to wait for the next administration to act. It is therefore important that each of the candidates who would be President be queried about their stand on torture and whether they would sign such legislation.

Each of the candidates needs to know that there is strong sentiment in the American community in general and the Jewish community in particular against the use of torture by any agency of the United States Government. It is especially important that when a candidate comes to speak in a local Temple, Synagogue or Jewish Center, or when a candidate is at an event where he or she is courting the Jewish community that someone ask the candidate about their stand on torture. Certainly you should be polite in these exchanges but you should also be forthright and specific.

If you are not going to see any of the candidates at a public meeting you can write to them with your questions. The more inquiries they receive, the more they will feel pressured to make their opposition to torture a part of their campaign.

Here are some sample questions you might ask:

1. Do you believe waterboarding is torture and if you are President will you outlaw the use of waterboarding?
2. President Bush has threatened to veto legislation that passed the House of Representatives that would outlaw the use of torture by the CIA and require the CIA to conform to the standards imposed on the military. Would you sign such legislation?
3. Do you agree with the Israeli Supreme Court decision outlawing the use of torture by Israeli police and Israeli interrogators when it said that these forces could not use methods such as violently shaking prisoners, sleep deprivation or the combination of techniques of sensory deprivation meant to "break down" prisoners?
4. Would you advocate similar restrictions in the United States?

Please tell us how you fare. We would like to post candidate responses on our website. Forward any comments to edwardfeld@rhr-na.org. Good luck.