Religious torture opponents pleased, concerned by Obama executive order (Associated Baptist Press)

[struggle4progress]

By Robert Marus
Thursday, 22 January 2009

... Obama “has already changed the world with respect to America’s use of torture,” said a statement praising the orders from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. “He has rejected the use of torture as an interrogation technique and allowed the United States to again find its moral bearing.”

However, the statement added, Obama’s establishment of a task force to study whether the CIA should be allowed to establish other techniques beyond those described in the Army manual “is a cause for concern.”

Coalition leaders called on Obama “to ensure that any additional techniques are humane, effective, and available for public scrutiny. We cannot afford to risk a return to the secret abuses of the past. Specifically, the president should publicly affirm that any additional interrogation techniques comply with the ‘golden rule’ -- that they would be both moral and legal if used upon a captured American” ...

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) released a statement specifically criticizing the Guantanamo order ...

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3790&Itemid=53