From: <fuchs@michaelfuchs.org>
To: <president@whitehouse.gov>
Cc: <annagram@mail.house.gov>, <webmail@feinstein-iq.senate.gov>
Date: 23 Feb 2005
Subject: Mass Killings in Darfur

Dear President Bush, Congresswoman Eshoo, and Senator Feinstein,

I am writing with regard to the genocide taking place in Darfur.
We now have pictures of corpses, raped and burned girls, shot
children. We know what is going on - up to 10,000 more dead per
month - and we have, arguably, the power to stop it. I am
writing to urge you to implement sanctions against Sudan, a
no-fly zone, a freeze of Sudanese officials' assets,
prosecution of the killers by the International Criminal Court,
a team effort by African and Arab countries to pressure Sudan,
and an international force of African troops with financing and
logistical support from the West. We know the U.N. is, as ever,
going to do nothing - except declare that (big relief!) what's
happening is not "genocide", merely 70,000 dead people who
happen to be of the same ethnicity. It is up to us.

I know it's difficult to save everyone. But we must try to live
up to our pledge of "never again".

Very sincerely yours,
Michael Fuchs
(U.S. citizen living abroad)
[address/phone]

 – 
michael stephen fuchs
 msf@michaelfuchs.org
 www.michaelfuchs.org

Dear President Bush, Congresswoman Eshoo, and Senator Feinstein,

The United States is the only country in the history of the
world founded upon a philosophy, or set of principles: these
include freedom of speech, respect for human dignity, freedom of
conscience and religion, equal justice for all, and tolerance.

The allegations of abuse and torture of detainees in the
occupation of Iraq, at Guantanamo Bay, and in the War on Terror
in general are extremely troubling on a number of levels. 
Torture is immoral, illegal, and counterproductive. Torture
undermines the moral and legal principles on which society is
based. The facts that the U.S. - the putative City on a Hill -
has been shown to inflict abuse and torture upon people in its
custody has ineradicably stained the moral authority of the U.S.
It has eroded our ability to work for human rights around the
world, as well as to fight against tyranny and terror. Much
more to the point, it's simply horrific and wrong.

The scale of U.S. involvement in torture is not fully known.
We know that 28 detainees have died in U.S. custody. We know
that sexual humiliation and mock torture were inflicted on
detainees at Abu Ghraib. We know that the White House stopped
a legislative attempt to prevent the C.I.A. from using torture
last December, and still refuses to say what the C.I.A. is
authorized to do to detainees. We know that detainees have
been shipped to allied countries that do practice torture.
And we have widespread reports of torture and other abuse out
of Guantanamo and elsewhere.

As a U.S. citizen - and, incidentally, as a strong supporter
of the War on Terror, the liberation of Afghanistan, the
liberation of Iraq, and President Bush's stated goal of
ending tyranny in the world - I (along with Amnesty
International USA) call on the President and Congress to
investigate all allegations of torture and ensure that
anyone responsible for ordering or carrying out torture is
prosecuted and punished according to US and international
law; and to make an unequivocal declaration that torture is
never acceptable, against U.S. and international law, and
never perpetrated by any agents of the United States.

Thank you very much for your kind consideration of this
extremely grave matter.

Very sincerely yours,
Michael Fuchs