For Immediate Release: February 7, 2011
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Rumsfeld Passes the Buck – A Faith Leader Responds

(Washington, DC)  In the wake of reports that in his new book, “Known and Unknown,” former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld blamed the abuses at Abu Ghraib on a few rogue soldiers, Rev. Richard L. Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released this statement today calling on Mr. Rumsfeld to take responsibility for helping to create the conditions that led to those abuses and calling on the U.S. government to create a Commission of Inquiry to achieve real accountability for torture:

“It is shameful when high level officials avoid taking responsibility for the policies they put in place. We know that as Secretary of Defense, Mr. Rumsfeld gave his approval for the use of torture during interrogations.  While he may not have specifically approved the abuses that were depicted in the photographs from Abu Ghraib, he put in place policies that made it clear to soldiers that torture and abuse were acceptable. 

Mr. Rumsfeld does not bear sole responsibility for these decisions, however.  The decision to allow the use of torture and other abuses was a decision made by multiple players at the highest levels of the previous Administration.  Understanding how and why these decisions were made is critical to preventing similar mistakes in the future.  We ask the President to appoint a non-partisan Commission of Inquiry to fully investigate our past use of torture and to make recommendations for preventing its future use.”

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a growing membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, 300 religious groups have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.