Colin Powell Says Administration’s Torture Plan Endangers U.S. Troops. Powell: “The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism. To redefine Common Article 3 would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk.” [Colin Powell, Letter to Senator John McCain, 9/13/06]

Over 20 Military Officials Say Torture Plan Endangers U.S. Troops. “We believe that the language that would redefine Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions as equivalent to the standards contained in the Detainee Treatment Act violates the core principles of the Geneva Conventions and poses a grave threat to American service-members, now and in future wars.” [General Joseph Hoar, Admiral Stansfield Turner, Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr., Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy, Vice Admiral Albert H. Konetzni Jr., Lieutenant General Charles Otstott, Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan, Major General John Batiste, Major General Eugene Fox, Major General John L. Fugh, Rear Admiral Don Guter, Major General Fred E. Haynes, Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, Major General Melvyn Montano, Major General Gerald T. Sajer, Brigadier General David M. Brahms, Brigadier General James P. Cullen, Brigadier General Evelyn P. Foote, Brigadier General David R. Irvine, Brigadier General John H. Johns, Brigadier General Richard O’Meara, Brigadier General Murray G. Sagsveen, Brigadier General Anthony Verrengia, Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis, Ambassador Pete Peterson, Colonel Lawrence B. Wilkerson, Honorable William H. Taft IV, Letter to Senators John Warner and Carl Levin, 9/12/06]

General John Vessey Says Torture Plan Endangers U.S. Troops. “First, it would undermine the moral basis which had generally guided or conduct in war throughout our history. Second, it could give opponents a legal argument for the mistreatment of Americans being held prisoner in time of war.” [General John W. Vessey, Letter to Senator John McCain, 9/12/06]

Top Military Lawyers Say Military Tribunal Plan Is “Unworthy of American Values.” “We strongly agree with those who have argued that we must arrive at a position worthy of American values, i.e., that we will not allow military commissions to rely on secret evidence, hearsay, and evidence obtained by torture. But it would be utterly inconsistent, and unworthy of American values, to include in the draft bill that would, at the same time, strip the courts of habeas jurisdiction and allow detainees to be held, potentially for life, based on CSRT determinations that relied on just such evidence.” [Rear Admiral (Ret.) John Hutson, Rear Admiral (Ret.) Donald Guter and Brigadier General (Ret.) David Brahms, Letter to Senators John Warner and Carl Levin, 9/12/06]

Federal Judges Disagree with Torture Plan; Say Defendants Must See Evidence Used against Them. “Senator John McCain and others have rightly insisted that the proposed military commissions established to try terror subjects of war crimes must not be permitted to rely on evidence secured by unlawful coercion. But stripping district courts of habeas jurisdiction would undermine this goal by permitting the Executive to detain without trial based on the same coerced evidence.” [Judge John Gibbons, Judge Shirley Hufstedler, Judge Nathaniel Jones, Judge Timothy Lewis, Judge William Norris, Judge George Pratt, Judge Sarokin, William Sessions, Judge Patricia Wald, Letter to Members of Congress]