Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is calling on the American people to defend American values by fighting back against President Trump’s plan to bring back torture.
In an interview with ABC News Trump expressed his belief that torture works, “I have spoken as recently as 24 hours ago with people at the highest level of intelligence and I asked them the question. ‘Does it work? Does torture work’ – and the answer was ‘Yes, absolutely.’”
Bernie Sanders responded to Trump’s comments with a call for Americans to fight.
In a statement, Sanders said, “Does Donald Trump really want to defy the Geneva Convention and international law and make torture an official policy of the United States government? Does Trump really want to lead this country into shame and barbarity, and undermine the values that have made us a great and respected nation? Does Trump really want to ignore the advice of U.S. military leaders who vigorously oppose torture? Does Trump really want to tell our military adversaries that, if America does it, they also have the right to torture captured American soldiers? Whatever Trump may or may not want, Congress and the American people must defend American values. No torture.”
Sen. Sanders is correct. The Trump administration wants to take the country back to the ugly Bush era of torture. The 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report found that not only did torture not work, but the practice of torture also jeopardized US national security.
The report also found that torture did not provide good information, “The Committee finds, based on a review of CIA interrogation records, that the use of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques was not an effective means of obtaining accurate information or gaining detainee cooperation….While being subjected to the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques and afterwards, multiple CIA detainees fabricated information, resulting in faulty intelligence. Detainees provided fabricated information on critical intelligence issues, including the terrorist threats which the CIA identified as its highest priorities.”
Bernie Sanders is right. Torture is un-American and goes against everything that nation stands for. There is a moral imperative to oppose torture, but there is also a practical national security reason to oppose torture. Contrary to what Trump believes, torture doesn’t work.
The American people need to stand with Sen. Sanders and other and fight tooth and nail to not allow Trump to define America as a nation that tortures.