Dear Senator McCain:

I am appalled that a respected Senator of your stature, a veteran, and a former prisoner of war could condemn MoveOn.org and vote for Michael Mukasey to be Attorney General, all in the space of two months. Do you believe that freedom of speech is not acceptable, but torture is?

Where are your priorities? I know that, as a Vietnam veteran, you experienced terrible things in a conflict that was poorly planned, poorly executed, and was tantamount to a betrayal of our soldiers by our government. For example, the Pentagon Papers demonstrated clearly that President Johnson had knowingly lied to the nation regarding our entry into Vietnam and his conduct of the war. If this doesn't sound familiar, let me remind you that President Bush lied to the nation regarding when he decided to invade Iraq. (Bob Woodward's book Plan of Attack -- which Bush called an accurate record of what happened -- related how Bush had already committed America to war at the time he was telling the American people that no decision had been made.) Bush also lied to the nation regarding the reasons for the invasion. First, Bush put forth the ludicrous claim that Saddam Hussein was an ally of Osama Bin Laden. Anyone who understood the politics of the Middle East knew that they were enemies. Second, regarding Saddam's arsenal, Bush chose to ignore the facts presented to him by the United Nations weapons inspectors -- including American experts -- and from the CIA. Instead, Bush chose to believe the claims of convicted embezzler Ahmed Chalabi and those of the known fabricator codenamed "Curveball." The experts warned Bush that, if the United States invaded, it could set off a civil war. Bush ignored the experts and ordered the invasion. A civil war resulted, and our troops are now stuck in another conflict where there is no way to win and no easy way out -- just like Vietnam.

In September 2007, General David Petraeus testified before the Senate that violence in Iraq had decreased. Not only did the press report that his figures had been doctored, but 2007 has been the bloodiest year in Iraq since the American invasion. In response to this misleading testimony, MoveOn.org took out an advertisement in the New York Times describing exactly what was wrong with Petraeus' figures.

In response, you said "MoveOn.org ought to be thrown out of this country." Where was your vehemence when it was revealed that Alberto Gonzales, Jay Bybee, Donald Rumsfeld, John Yoo and others had written monstrous legal opinions claiming that some forms of torture, including waterboarding, weren't really "torture" and were thus perfectly legal? Where was your insistence that those who conspired to commit torture be thrown out of our country? I cannot even begin to imagine the atrocities you witnessed and endured in Vietnam. What happened to your conscience? How can you condemn MoveOn.org for stating the facts, and then support people like Mr. Mukasey who refuse to condemn waterboarding as torture? Is it your opinion that those who tell the truth should be thrown out of the country, but those who refuse to enforce the War Crimes Act should be awarded jobs in the President's Cabinet?

Senator, for two hundred years, American law and policy has held that waterboarding is torture. As a former judge, it is unthinkable that Mr. Mukasey was unaware of this. Nevertheless, in his testimony before the Senate, Mukasey refused to disclose whether he personally believes whether waterboarding is torture. This in and of itself showed that Mukasey is unfit to be the government's top lawyer. Earlier this month, you said "I am confident he would not condone such practices." Did you read a different transcript of Mr. Mukasey's confirmation hearings than I did?

Regarding waterboarding, President Bush has said "the American people must know that whatever techniques we use are within the law." This is the same President Bush who claimed that the NSA always, always, always obtained a search warrant before wiretapping someone's phone, as the Constitution requires. When the New York Times revealed that Bush had been lying -- he'd knowingly broken the law hundreds of times and then lied about it -- Bush then declared that he'd been right to do so.

The United States routinely condemned waterboarding when it was employed by dictatorships around the world. We are currently fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- countries where they have no legal tradition banning torture. When the United States tortures prisoners, this will only encourage our enemies to capture and torture our soldiers -- after all, we'd do the same to them. Bush's illegal attempts to define waterboarding as "not torture" have put our troops in terrible danger.

If an American pilot were shot down by Iran and forced to confess to nonexistent crimes through waterboarding, there is no question that the United States would charge that she'd been tortured. What is Bush's argument -- that it's not torture when we do it?

Earlier this year, Mukasey's predecessor, Alberto Gonzales, resigned in disgrace when it was shown that he'd helped Bush circumvent laws he didn't like, such as the FISA act. We need an Attorney General who will uphold the law and the Constitution. Mukasey is not such a man, but thanks to your vote, we're now stuck with him. Is it too much to ask our leaders to respect the Constitution under whose laws they were elected?

Waterboarding is torture. It is illegal, immoral, and unethical. Those who torture are criminals. The President of the United States cannot order someone to break the law. Richard Nixon once claimed "when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal" -- but even Nixon never did anything so monstrous.

Senator McCain, ever since George W. Bush became president, the Republican party has sacrificed its principles to protect him. First the party of small government surrendered the balanced budget. Then the party of personal freedom sacrificed civil liberties by passing the so-called PATRIOT Act. Then the party of conservatism sacrificed habeas corpus by passing the Military Commissions Act. Now, by confirming Mr. Mukasey to head the Justice Department, the Republicans have become the party of torture.

Senator, I voted for you in the primaries of 2000. The subsequent abuses of George W. Bush drove me from the Republican party, and I have come to realize that voting for you was a mistake. I believed you to be a patriot and a man of integrity. Instead, you have followed the party line and compromised your principles in order to stand behind a President who has betrayed everything the Republican party and the American nation stand for. Therefore, I cannot support your run for the Presidency.

In 2000, then-Governor Bush launched a smear campaign against you when competing in the South Carolina primary. You later endorsed Bush for the Presidency. I still cannot understand why you gave your support to someone who had insulted you in that fashion. (Was it acceptable for the Bush campaign to smear your military service, but not acceptable for MoveOn.org to point out that a general wasn't being forthright?)

Senator, Bush's policy of torture played an enormous role in launching the Iraqi insurgency. The United States invaded Iraq to liberate the people from Saddam Hussein, but the Iraqis saw what we did to the prisoners at Abu Ghraib -- 90% of whom had been arrested by mistake and were innocent of any wrongdoing. It wasn't long afterwards that the insurgency began to make headlines. Bush's torture policies lost us the war in Iraq, and our soldiers are currently stuck there fighting a war with no way to win. Senator, if you call for our troops to come home, people will listen. You have lost my vote, but if you stand up to Bush, you may still be able to save the Republican party.

Your actions supporting Bush over the last seven years have probably lost you any chance at the Presidency. I believe the unwavering support of Republican leaders helped Bush twist the party of Lincoln into the party of torture, and I doubt that your 2008 presidential campaign can recover from it. Nevertheless, saving our soldiers from Bush's disaster is the right thing to do. We need patriots to stand up to Bush and save the lives of our troops. As long as you and the other Senators follow the example of Neville Chamberlain -- as long as you appease a man who believes that waterboarding is an viable means of interrogation -- our troops will continue to die in Iraq for no reason other than the arrogance of an uncaring President.

Senator McCain, you, and the other Republican leaders, believe that liberal advocacy groups are un-American for telling the truth. You, and the other Republican leaders, take Bush at his word when he says he doesn't torture people, all the while refusing to disclose whether his definition of "torture" includes waterboarding. How can you believe Bush's words when his administration's legal opinions state the opposite? How can you believe Bush when he has challenged the McCain Amendment in court? Senator, you know as well as I do that all forms of torture are un-American. Bush's use of torture -- and his nearly unanimous support among Republicans -- means I will never vote for another Republican as long as I live. Senator, George W. Bush and his party are morally bankrupt. I am grateful for all the work you've done in trying to stop torture, but as long as you support Bush, you will be tainted by his depravity.

Sincerely,
C. Colvin

CC: Senator Dianne Feinstein