5 DAYS OF ACTION AGAINST TORTURE
Veterans For Peace is sponsoring five days of action to stop the use of torture! Each day this week you will receive an email with one important step you can take to Stop Torture Now!
Day 4
ACTION AGAINST TORTURE
Write a Letter to the Editor
Your voice as a veterans is important! The media is missing the message, but we can provide it for them. Use this opportunity to contact your local paper and write them a letter to the editor.
* Read Board Member Ken Mayers' Letter to the Editor, published in the Santa Fe New Mexican on May 17, 2009.
View Sample Letters to the Editor
Search for Local Media and Contact Information
NEED HELP FINDING A LOCAL PAPER: See a searchable guide
TIPS FOR WRITING A LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
* Be timely. Your letter has a better chance of being published if it is in response to a previously written story or current event.
* Be precise. Keep your letter between 100-200 words.
* Be sure to explain that you are a veteran and a member of VFP in your letter!
* Get to the point in the first sentence. The rest should be supportive material
* Keep your paragraphs short.
* Always add your name, phone number, and address to your letter.
* Letters are best submitted by email, fax, or regular mail.
* Avoid personal attacks.
Learn more about VFP's Ban Torture Campaign
Share your letter with us! We would love to publish it online here. Email your letter to chrissie@veteransforpeace.net.
VETERANS WORKING TOGETHER FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE THROUGH NON-VIOLENCE.
Veterans For Peace, 216 S. Meramec, St. Louis, MO 63105, 314-725-6005
Veterans For Peace appreciates your generous donations.
We also encourage you to join our ranks.
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Day 3
Call the White House (202-456-1111) and share your thoughts on torture with President Obama.WHITE HOUSE COMMENT LINE SCRIPT:
"I am contacting you as a member of Veterans For Peace. As a concerned citizen, I would like to register to share my distress on the issue of the torture. It is my opinion that torture, under any circumstance, is morally reprehensible and defies the most basic ideals of the United States.
"We cannot hope to regain our standing as a nation governed by the standards of human dignity until there is compliance with the ruling to release the torture photographs as named in the FOIA request by American Civil Liberties Union and Veterans For Peace. Releasing these photos does not endanger the troops, but instead will show that we as U.S. citizens stand for transparency and the rule of law. It is not the photographs that pose a threat, but rather the acts carried out at the behest of Bush Administration officials that are depicted. Only when we embrace responsibility for the past can we hope to build a better future.
"Recognizing this, we wish that any officials that authorized the use of torture be held accountable for their actions. I believe that all Americans desire a safer and more secure tomorrow, and I thank you for allowing me to express my views on the subject."
DAY 2
Contact your Senators and Representative
Contact your Senators and Representative to let them know you are against the use of torture. A template letter is provided, but we encourage you to make it your own! See additional talking points here.
DAY 1
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Policies of the Bush Administration, specifically under the encouragement of Vice-President Dick Cheney, have led to aggressive interrogation techniques being used consistently by our government. As veterans, we have an important role in speaking out against the justification and use of torture!
That is why Veterans For Peace joined the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations in the recent lawsuit that forced release of the Bush White House torture memos last month. We are also party to the law suit seeking release of remaining torture photos. Unfortunately, President Obama is refusing to release those photos.
Releasing the photographs will allow the people of our nation to assess what our government has done in our name and act accordingly. It will show that we as U.S. citizens can face our shame and emerge better from the experience. It will show that our Republic is strong and can weather most any storm.
It is of vital interest to military men and women all over the world that protections against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment be even-handedly applied by all nations at all times. This is the only way we can assure that these protections will be afforded to our citizens if and when they become prisoners in the conduct of war.
Americans are outraged by our government's use of torture and the lack of criminal prosecution. We can do something about it!