There is a national sense of REVULSION, and it is
growing, it will result in an Electoral Uprising in
November 2004...Drip, drip, drip...Chalabi, Plame, the
WMD lies, the pre-9/11 negligence, Halliburton, Enron
and the phoney "California energy crisis," the
prostitution of the EPA, Abu Ghraib...
Harvard University Law School: A group of more than 450 professors of law, international relations, and public policy--led by Harvard Law School faculty members--today sent a letter calling on Congress to hold accountable, through impeachment and removal if appropriate, civilian officials from the top of the Executive Branch on down for policies developed at high levels that have facilitated the recent abuses at Abu Ghraib. The letter also calls on Congress to take primary responsibility for any policy on coercive
interrogation employed by the United States.
In asking Congress to assess Executive Branch
accountability, the letter says: "a growing body of
evidence indicates that the abuses practiced on
detainees under American control are the consequence
of policies developed at the highest levels in the
months and years immediately preceding the scandal."
It argues that prosecution of lower level personnel
"while necessary, is clearly insufficient."
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http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2004/06/16_congressletter.php
Harvard Law Professors Urge Congress to Review
Interrogation Policy and Hold Executive Branch
Accountable
Post Date: June 16, 2004
A group of more than 450 professors of law,
international relations, and public policy--led by
Harvard Law School faculty members--today sent a
letter calling on Congress to hold accountable,
through impeachment and removal if appropriate,
civilian officials from the top of the Executive
Branch on down for policies developed at high levels
that have facilitated the recent abuses at Abu Ghraib.
The letter also calls on Congress to take primary
responsibility for any policy on coercive
interrogation employed by the United States.
In asking Congress to assess Executive Branch
accountability, the letter says: "a growing body of
evidence indicates that the abuses practiced on
detainees under American control are the consequence
of policies developed at the highest levels in the
months and years immediately preceding the scandal."
It argues that prosecution of lower level personnel
"while necessary, is clearly insufficient."
In asking Congress to take responsibility for
reviewing coercive interrogation policies and
practices, the letter notes that "official U.S. policy
now involves use of coercive methods that are morally
questionable and that may violate international and
domestic law." It further states: "....any decision to
adopt a coercive interrogation policy and the
definition of any such policy, if adopted, should be
made within the strict confines of a democratic
process.... [B]asic principles and policies regarding
human rights must be defined by a representative and
accountable body acting in transparent and
deliberative fashion."
Elizabeth Bartholet, one of the Harvard Law professors
organizing the letter effort, stated: "The letter
arose out of our concern that some of the most
fundamental issues raised by these abuses were getting
lost in the debate. The use of torture and related
extreme coercive techniques goes to the heart of our
understanding of our nation, its culture and values.
If we take seriously our democratic system, any
decision to use such techniques must be made by
Congress as the representative body, rather than by
Executive Branch officials working in secrecy."
Christine Desan, another organizer, stated: "As the
letter emphasizes, there can be no doubt that the acts
of abuse in Abu Ghraib prison constitute violations of
both the domestic and international legal obligations
of the U.S. and its agents. Executive Branch officials
have admitted as much."
Henry Steiner, director of Harvard Law School's Human
Rights Program, said: "The policies adopted and the
abuses to which they led have hurt not only the
immediate victims in terrible ways but also the
credibility and effectiveness of our country's efforts
in Iraq and elsewhere."
U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy will hold a press
conference in Washington, D.C. today to demonstrate
his support for its demands.
"The soldiers responsible for these atrocities need to
be held accountable. But they were not responsible for
setting the policy," said Kennedy. "We need to know
what orders and guidelines they were given, and where
those policies originated. No one should be immune to
questions, including the President."
The letter has been signed by 56 law teachers at
Harvard Law School, including former Dean Robert C.
Clark, and Professors Laurence Tribe, Alan Dershowitz,
Lani Guinier, Detlev Vagts and Frank Michelman. It has
also been signed by leading experts on international
relations, public policy and constitutional law across
the nation, including Yale University Professor Bruce
Ackerman; Professor Philip Alston, director of NYU's
Center for Human Rights and Global Justice; Jose
Alvarez, director of the Center on Global Legal
Problems at Columbia Law School; Duke Law School
Professor Paul Carrington; Georgetown Law School
Professor David Cole; Princeton Professor Richard
Falk; Columbia Law School Professor Jack Greenberg;
Kennedy School of Government Professor Christopher
Jencks; UCLA Law School Professor Kenneth Karst;
Juliette Kayyem of the Kennedy School of Government;
University of Texas Law School Professor Sanford
Levinson; David Scheffer, former U.S. ambassador at
large for war crimes issues; and Harvard University
Professor William Julius Wilson.
The letter has also been signed by members of the
Faculty of the Tufts University Fletcher School. It
has been signed by a total of 481 members of
university faculties across the nation, from more than
110 schools in 40 different states. It has been sent
to all members of Congress and of the relevant
Congressional committees.
The letter and the list of signers as of June 14 is
available at www.iraq-letter.com.
For additional information please contact Harvard Law
School Professors Christine Desan (617-495-4613 or
desan@law.harvard.edu), Henry Steiner (617-495-3107 or
hsteiner@law.harvard.edu), Martha Minow
(minow@law.harvard.edu) or Elizabeth Bartholet
(617-495-3128 or ebarthol@law.harvard.edu). Please
note: Professor Bartholet will be unavailable from
June 15-20.