{"id":4998,"date":"2017-01-05T15:31:18","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T15:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.amnestyusa.org\/?p=74136"},"modified":"2017-01-05T15:31:18","modified_gmt":"2017-01-05T15:31:18","slug":"trumps-cia-pick-must-disavow-torture-and-commit-to-upholding-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2017\/01\/05\/trumps-cia-pick-must-disavow-torture-and-commit-to-upholding-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s CIA Pick Must Disavow Torture \u2013 and Commit to Upholding the Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Ann Burroughs, Chair of AIUSA\u2019s Board of Directors<\/em><\/p>\n

Donald Trump has made it clear he wants bring back torture. \u201cWe should go much stronger than waterboarding,\u201d he said last year, calling it \u201cyour minor form\u201d of torture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s picked Rep. Mike Pompeo to head the CIA \u2013 an individual who called the CIA\u2019s program of torture and disappearing under the Bush administration \u201cwithin the law\u201d and \u201cwithin the Constitution<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t let Trump bring back the CIA torture program<\/a>. Trump\u2019s pick for CIA chief must reject torture \u2013 and commit to upholding the law.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why this week, Amnesty International USA\u2019s Board of Directors wrote the Senate Intelligence Committee<\/a> urging senators to seek Pompeo\u2019s explicit commitment to upholding U.S. and international law on torture and other ill-treatment.<\/p>\n

The fight against torture under the Trump administration starts with you \u2013 <\/em><\/strong>Take action.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Our letter points out that four of the individuals most recently confirmed to direct the CIA\u2014Porter Goss<\/a>, Leon Panetta<\/a>, General David Petraeus<\/a> and John Brennan<\/a>\u2014used their confirmation hearings to condemn torture as morally reprehensible and inconsistent with U.S. values and legal commitments. \u201cThese are values we have fought for, that Americans have died for over the course of decades and centuries,\u201d General Petraeus testified.<\/p>\n

But this isn\u2019t about whether Trump or Pompeo agree with us that torture is wrong. Regardless of their personal views, torture is a crime. It violates unequivocal U.S. and international law, including laws long supported by members of both parties. Here are just a few examples:<\/p>\n