Church Folks for a Torture-Free America

A group of church leaders, including George Hunsinger, Tony Campolo, Ron Sider and Jim Wallis, has penned an “open letter” to Alberto Gonzales:

As a self-professed evangelical Christian, you surely know that all people are created in the image of God. You see it as a moral imperative to treat each human being with reverence and dignity. We invite you to affirm with us that we are all are made in the image of God – every human being. We invite you to acknowledge that no legal category created by mere mortals can revoke that status. You understand that torture – the deliberate effort to undermine human dignity – is a grave sin and an affront to God. You would not deny that the systemic use of torture on prisoners at Abu Ghraib was fundamentally immoral, as is the deliberate rendering of any detainee to authorities likely to commit torture.

We urge you to declare that any attempt to undermine international standards on torture, renditions, or habeas corpus is not only wrong but sinful. We are concerned that as White House counsel you have shown a troubling disregard for international laws against torture, for the legal rights of suspected “enemy combatants,” and for the adverse consequences your decisions have had at home and abroad.

On a related note, Matthew Yglesias says:

Any Democrats who voted “no” on Ashcroft and are intend[ing] to vote “yes” on Gonzales desperately need to have their heads examined. Yes, I like courting Mexican-American voters, too. But if Bush nominates Robert Mugabe to be Secretary of Agriculture are we going to decide that supporting him is a key element of our African-American outreach strategy?

Of course, Gonzales doesn’t have the authority to order torture, so this is a stretch. The proper concern, I think, is the length to which members of the Administration have gone to provide legal cover for torture and what this says about their intentions. This, combined with the Abu Ghraib fiasco and reports of mistreatment coming out of Guantanamo, creates the impression that the Bush Administration’s commitment to refraining from the use of torture is lukewarm at best.