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US Congressional Candidate Cindy Sheehan Calls on Pelosi to Explain Silence on Torture Briefing
US Congressional Candidate Cindy Sheehan today called upon Nancy Pelosi to respond to a story printed in the December 9 Washington Post which claims that the Speaker of the House was present in a 2002 meeting where four members of Congress were given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and torture program.
According to the CIA, no objections were raised by any member of Congress present in the meeting, even though waterboarding, the interrogation technique profiled in the meeting, is illegal under international and US military law.
Pelosi has declined to comment on the story.
"My son was killed in part because of a battle that resulted from the torture happening at Abu Ghraib,” said Sheehan. “If Nancy Pelosi had done the right thing in 2002 and taken a stance against the use of inhumane torture practices Casey might still be alive, so would thousands more and think of those who could have been saved from this horrific abuse.”
“How she can claim that she supports the troops when her actions and silence put them directly into harms way?”
Sheehan, who this year declared her candidacy to run for Pelosi’s seat, reaffirmed her intentions to unseat the House Speaker.
“This is the smoking that makes it obvious why Nancy Pelosi ‘took impeachment off the table.’ It is more urgent now than ever that she is removed from office & I am even more determined to win her seat in 2008."
Waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique used as a torture method since the Spanish Inquisition, is outlawed under Article 3, Section 1 (a) of the Geneva Convention which prohibits, "Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture." All countries signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture are subject to the prohibition on torture. In 2006, the US Department of Defense released a revised Army Field Manual entitled Human Intelligence Collector Operations prohibiting the use of waterboarding by U.S. military personnel.
“Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress should be using their Constitutional authority to end all use of torture.” said Sheehan, “Acquiring information through use of torture on prisoners of war is as inhumane as it is unreliable.”
According to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution, "The Congress shall have power to….declare war… and make rules concerning captures on land and water;"
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I was a SF resident for 12+ years, voting always for Nancy Pelosi. I am outraged at her lack of action on impeachment, torture and numerous other items she has FAILED to act on. She is no better that this neocon administration, and seems to be part of it. It upsets me every time I see her face. Nancy Pelosi is a traitor and should be voted out of office. I will personally contribute as much $$ as possible to Cindy Sheehan's campaign, even though I now live in Dallas (neocon headquarters).
Nancy Pelosi is a TRAITOR, and she will be voted out of office!
Pelosi is a crook. By supporting the criminals in the white house she is vicariously reponsible for their behavior. I hope Cindy can help unseat her. Pelosi is a member the governing War Party and needs to be unseated.
thank you cindy for being a true american citizen not a (like rush limpdick) says phony politican...the reason why nancy p wont do anything cause some time back and a select few dummycrats and corrupticans bush let them in on the torture so bush could have leverage against the dems cause if it comes out now it will look like the dems were just as guilty of the war crimes which bush should be charged with and his side kick darth vader. now i know why nancy (no balls) pelosi won do sh*t...
Washington D. C. is like a stuffed up overflowing toilet. It should be unplugged, (Get rid of all lobbyists)and flushed! Get rid of all incumbents!!
Impeachment is not political! Impeachment was designed into the workings of our government to protect the constitution. As elected representatives, their oath of office is to uphold and protect the constitution. Impeachment is the tool that was provided to use when it is clear that the laws of this country are broken and reasonable attempts to correct the situation have failed. Many constitutional scholars have seen more than enough reason to investigate this administration for its utter disregard of this nation’s laws.
Although it has not been declared, we are living under martial law and this administrations interpretation of the 'war powers act' have put the citizens of this country in such a perilous predicament that it is against the law to demonstrate and demand the return of out rights that have been guaranteed by the constitution and usurped by this administration with the complicity of congress. I am much more afraid of our government than any terrorists.
Any, impartial, student of history recognizes that the similarities of what happened in Germany under Hitler and what is happening in this country right now are by design.
We can take a lesson from the recent bravery that the lawyers in Pakistan have shown the world by their willingness to be beaten and arrested when they believe that their Constitution has been violated!!
Unfortunately, our judiciary branch cannot even be trusted to call torture, torture!
Nancy Pelosi does not nor ever will represent the will of the people. She was put in power for one reason, to keep those Democrats who wanted to impeach Bush and Cheney, wanted to end the War in Iraq and bring our troops home from doing so and I might say she has done a wonderful job of doing so. People who believe she has failed are wrong, she has been overwhelmingly successful at keeping the Corporatocracy in place while giving the illusion on occasions of being in opposition of the war in Iraq. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are no more thanks to our corrupt government and thats all three branches of it. The only checks or balances possible would be an awakened citizenry working together as one to reclaim what the Bilderberg Group and their minions would deprive us of. We are in a class war and we are seriously losing this war because we don't know that this is the end game that's afoot. The land of the free, the home of the brave..........what a joke it has become and we have let it be so.......shame on us.
We're all still waiting Miss Thang......
and waiting..............
...................
Do our "representatives" even care
that their rating with the people
is below 12%?
I didn't think so.
It's high time we Americans realized that the closer you get to the "top" of the Democratic and Republican parties,the more alike they become.Instead of being shocked when someone like Pelosi takes impeachment "off the table",I nod my head in affirmation.I no longer get upset when Pelosi allows torture or the Democrats in general rant on and on about the war(s)-and then just go ahead and give Bush the funding he wants;they are truly "The Loyal Opposition".In public,they put up a good front(even that has decreased),but somehow Bush always gets what he wants.They seem to be afraid of the unspoken power of the Bush crime family.It's up to us to get this country back on an even keel before the list to starboard becomes too great.