Priests Face Prison for Exposing Torture Training at Fort in Arizona

[DemBones DemBones]

The beginning of a movement: Torture on trial in Tucson

By Brenda Norrell
Human rights editor
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report

TUCSON – Two Roman Catholic priests, Jesuit Fr. Steve Kelly and Franciscan Fr. Louie Vitale, are willing to go to prison to expose the fact that young soldiers at Fort Huachuca are being trained to torture. Further, one of those young soldiers has already committed suicide after going into the prisoners’ cages as an interrogator in northern Iraq. At the time of their arrest, Kelly, 58, and Vitale, 74, sought to deliver a letter to the military commander at Fort Huachuca. When they were halted, they knelt in prayer and were arrested.This case, however, is not just about two priests charged with trespass. It is not just about Fort Huachuca.

These priests are armed with a message about the proliferation of U.S. torture, secret prisons, depleted uranium and prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba who are never charged. It is about torture and the United States violation of the Geneva Conventions. This case is about how U.S. torture is increasing terrorism in the world.

Kelly points out that it is just a short jump from teaching torture to annihilating human beings with nuclear weapons. His convictions are so deep, that he has already served time in solitary confinement. Kelly served time in federal prison for the nonviolent direct disarmament of nuclear weapon delivery systems. In Dec., 2005, Kelly served as chaplain for “Witness to Torture,” a delegation of U.S. anti-torture activists who defied the U.S. embargo of Cuba with a march to Guantanamo Bay naval base and prison camp.

Turning his attention to the present, Kelly said most Americans are more informed about Paris Hilton’s jail sentence than about U.S. torture worldwide. Further, he said Americans are feeling more intimidated than ever by the federal government. “There’s this sense that if you step out of line, you will end up like them.” Kelly said more must be done to halt the war in Iraq, especially by religious leaders.


Kelly's observations are very accurate and very troubling, aren't they?


Guess who the post commander is, the commander that Fr. Kelly and Fr. Vitale attempted to deliver a letter to? Major General Barbara Fast . . . a key figure in the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib.

A case of the leopard being unable to change its spots, I'd say.


There is much more to the article,

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

This blog is called "CENSORED" and reports censored and under-reported news. Because it's a blog, you'll have to scroll way down to find the article, past articles about indigenous peoples, the 14 worst corporate evildoers, and so forth. You'll see a follow-up story about a court appearance by the priests before you get to the article.

This looks like a good blog to explore.