As most of you know by now, the compromise that has been struck by the President and Senate Republicans is, in truth, capitulation to torture. As the President's advisor put it, the negotiated legislation would leave the CIA's "program" intact, but force it to take the "scenic route." In other words, this is all so much spin to try to placate the public, quell the anti-torture movement and allow various politicians to claim victory, when the reality is to slam the door on hope for thousands of detainees.

Even though we are all tired of this issue and would like to take a break, this is not the time. We must let our Congresspeople know that we are not fooled by the window dressing of this so-called compromise. Republicans must understand that there can be no compromise with torture. And we must demand that Democrats, who have been largely silent, raise their voices NOW. So even though many of us made multiple contacts in the past week, we need to do it again. Like the widow in Jesus' parable (Luke 18.1-8) who wore out the unjust judge with her pleading, finally winning justice, we need to be relentless.

So, once again I ask the No2Torture network to advocate on behalf of the detainees who cannot advocate for themselves, and if the legislation passes in its current form, may not ever be able to.

We need to let those who represent us know that we expect them to oppose any legislation that:

• Abandons the rule of law and gives the President the freedom to interpret the Geneva Conventions any way he sees fit.
• Provides immunity to those responsible for past human rights abuses.
• Exempts from prosecution those who authorize treatment traditionally considered torture.
• Strips detainees of access to US courts.
• Allows coerced testimony to be admitted as legal evidence.

All of which are permitted in the current versions of the legislation pending before Congress.

And in it all, let us take strength from our faith in God who is merciful and powerful and is not fooled by a pretense of justice.

In Christ,
Carol Wickersham