International Conference of War Veteran Ministers

Secrecy, Torture, and the Military Commissions Act of 2006

A Peace and Justice Statement
October 18, 2006

The International Conference of War Veteran Ministers, meeting in Menlo Park, California, October 16 to October 20, 2006, and after prayerful reflection, adopted the following resolution concerning Secrecy, Torture and the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

As clergy and religious workers who have experienced personal pain in the trauma of war in defense of the freedoms we hold dear, we express our grave concern with the United States' Military Commissions Act of 2006 and call for Congress to rescind this legislation as soon as possible.

Those of us who have served in the Armed Services of the United States have taken oaths to "defend the Constitution of the United States of America from all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Enshrined in that Constitution for which we have put our lives on the line are essential freedoms that are compromised by the Military Commissions Act of 2006:

The Act subjects foreign citizens legally resident in the United States, as well as those living in their own countries, to summary arrest and indefinite detention with no hope of appeal.
The Act gives the President the power to apply the label of "unlawful enemy combatant" to any non-citizen he wants.
The Act in combination with the President's reservations to the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 repudiates at least a half-century of international precedent by allowing the President increased latitude to decide what abusive interrogation methods he considers permissible and that his decision can stay secret.
Foreign citizens, even those with permanent legal residence in the United States, who are detained in U.S. military prisons lose the basic right to challenge their imprisonment and can be held forever, with no access to a lawyer or to the courts.
Under the provisions of the Act, American courts have no power to review any aspect of this new system, except verdicts by military tribunals. The act limits appeals and bars legal actions based on the Geneva Conventions.
Under this Act, coerced evidence -- evidence obtained through torture -- is now permissible in Military Commission trials.
Under the Act the definition of torture is unacceptably narrow; in particular, this Act in effect excludes identification of rape as a form of torture.

These provisions of the Military Commissions Act therefore incorporate the abusive procedures of secret arrests, secret imprisonment, secret courts and torture that we had believed ourselves to be fighting against in our service to our country. As war veteran ministers, we know with special acuteness the damage that can be caused by things done in secret, and the degree to which torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that most religions hold dear. Secrecy and torture degrade everyone involved -- policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. They contradict our nation's most cherished ideals.

We are appalled at the abandonment of our American freedoms by our country's Executive and Legislative branches. Therefore, we call upon the U. S. Congress to rescind this legislation, and to restore the Constitutional protections for which we have risked our lives in time of war.

Portions of this statement were adapted from a resolution of Rabbis for Human Rights - North America.

Return to Peace and Justice Statements.

©2006 International Conference of War Veteran Ministers, founded in 1989 as the National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers. All Rights Reserved. The Inernatinal Conference of War Veteran Ministers and National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers are registered trademarks. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ICWVM is funded by membership dues, donations, and major grants from organizations believing in our work. Contact information for officers and webmaster on separate page. This page last updated October 20, 2006