Readers may be interested in the following letter on the subject of torture
addressed to the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is signed by a number of
senior CIA officers and others, including Paul Pillar, a former speaker to
the Salon.
Letter From Intelligence and Military Professionals on Use of Torture
Tuesday 26 September 2006

United States Senate
Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Arlen Specter, Chairman
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, Ranking Democratic Member

Dear Senators:

We write as experienced intelligence and military officers who have served
in the frontlines in waging war against communism and Islamic extremism. We
fully support the need for proactive operations to identify and disrupt
those individuals and organizations who wish to harm our country or its
people. We also recognize that intelligence operations, unlike law
enforcement initiatives, enjoy more flexibility and less scrutiny, but at
the same time must continue to be guided by applicable US law.

We are very concerned that the proposals now before the Congress,
concerning how to handle detainees suspected of terrorist activities, run
the risk of squandering the greatest resource our country enjoys in fighting
the dictators and extremists who want to destroy us-our commitment as a
nation to the rule of law and the protection of divinely granted human
rights.

Apart from the moral considerations, we believe it is important that the
Congress send a clear message that torture is not an effective or useful
tactic. As noted recently by the head of Army Intelligence, Lt. Gen. John
Kimmons: No good intelligence is going to come from abusive practices. I
think history tells us that. I think the empirical evidence of the last five
years, hard years, tells us that.

Our nation was created in response to the abuses visited on our ancestors by
the King of England, who claimed the right to enter their homes, to levy
taxes at whim, and to jail those perceived as a threat
without allowing them to be confronted by their accusers. Now, 230 years
later, we find our own President claiming the right to put people in
detention centers without legal recourse and to employ interrogation methods
that, by any reasonable legal standard, are categorized as torture.

We ask that the Senate lead the way in upholding the principles set forth
in the Declaration of Independence and affirmed in the Geneva Conventions
regarding the rights of individuals and the obligations of governing
authorities towards those in their power. We believe it is important to
combat the hatred and vitriol espoused by Islamic extremists, but not at the
expense of being viewed as a nation who justifies or excuses torture and
incarceration without recourse to a judicial procedure.

The US has been in the forefront of the human rights campaign throughout the
20th century, led by Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. The end of World
War II and the horrors of the Holocaust inspired the United States to take
the lead in making the case that human rights were universal, not
parochial. Until recently the policy of our country was that all people, not
just citizens of the United States, were entitled to these protections. It
is important that the world understand that we remain committed to these
principles. In fighting our enemies we must wage this battle in harmony with
the traditional values of our society that were enshrined in the opening
clause of the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be
self-evident...."

Respectfully yours,

CIA Officers:
Milton Bearden, Directorate of Operations
Ray Close, Directorate of Operations
Vincent Cannistraro, Directorate of Operations
Philip Giraldi, Directorate of Operations
James Marcinkowski, Directorate of Operations
Melissa Mahle, Directorate of Operations
Paul Pillar, Directorate of Intelligence
David MacMichael, Directorate of Intelligence
Melvin Goodman, Directorate of Intelligence
Ray McGovern, Directorate of Intelligence
Mary O. McCarthy, DCI professional staff

US Military and Department of Defense:
W. Patrick Lang, (Colonel, US Army retired, Director Defense Humint
Services, retired)
A. D. Ackels, (Colonel, US Army, retired)
Karen Kwiatkowski, (Lt. Colonel, USAF, retired)

US Department of State:
Thomas R. Maertens, Deputy Coordinator, Office of Counter Terrorism, US
Department of State
Larry C Johnson, Office of Counter Terrorism, US Department of State

Federal Bureau of Investigation:
Christopher Whitcomb, Hostage Rescue Team