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Amnesty International USA



	Politics are wreaking havoc on plans to close Guantanamo. Give our political leaders the support they need to do the right thing.

This past week has been disastrous for our efforts to close Guantanamo and restore our nation’s credibility and moral authority.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 90 – 6 against closing Guantanamo. The bill would have transferred 240 detainees to U.S. soil. Opponents of the bill argued that to do so would jeopardize our national security.

But the thing is, we’re already detaining countless convicted terrorists there; terrorists like Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged 20th hijacker of the 9/11 attacks, and Ramzi Yusef, one of those responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Fear is winning. President Obama’s major speech today on national security made it clear that he knows it too.

Fierce political winds are pushing even our champions in Congress to wonder whether or not we really can close Guantanamo. And once these doubts start taking root, we may lose not only the recent ground we’ve gained, but perhaps even see the mistakes of the past further entrenched.

Can you send a letter today to show Congress and the President that we resoundingly reject any proposals that would sacrifice our values, the rule of law, and even our security to the forces of fear?

The President echoed in his speech today what you and I have known all along: That torture doesn’t work. That Guantanamo has been a massive liability. That justice and security come by respecting the rule of law.

And yet, Obama’s administration keeps defending illegal, immoral and ineffective policies. Policies like the Justice Department’s continued use of the “state secrets” argument to withhold even basic information from defendants. Or re-vamping the widely discredited military commissions to try suspects.

This week’s events provide the clearest reason yet why we need an independent, 9/11 style, commission of inquiry.

We cannot risk letting politics get in the way of the truth. And as these events play out, politics will dominate until a fully-funded, independent and credible body is authorized to carefully review the horrors of the past eight years.

Send a letter now and show them that our values — the soul of our nation — cannot be sacrificed to petty politics.

This is about much more than just today and the people involved now, but about the future of our nation and even the world.

Thanks for standing with us,

Njambi, Zeke, Tom, Geneve and Steve on the Counter Terror with Justice Campaign team