[Mb-civic] The Stain of Torture - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

The Stain of Torture

By Burton J. Lee III

Friday, July 1, 2005; Page A25

Having served as a doctor in the Army Medical Corps early in my career 
and as presidential physician to George H.W. Bush for four years, I 
might be expected to bring a skeptical and partisan perspective to 
allegations of torture and abuse by U.S. forces. I might even be 
expected to join those who, on the one hand, deny that U.S. personnel 
have engaged in systematic use of torture while, on the other, claiming 
that such abuse is justified. But I cannot do so.

It's precisely because of my devotion to country, respect for our 
military and commitment to the ethics of the medical profession that I 
speak out against systematic, government-sanctioned torture and 
excessive abuse of prisoners during our war on terrorism. I am also 
deeply disturbed by the reported complicity in these abuses of military 
medical personnel. This extraordinary shift in policy and values is 
alien to my concept of modern-day America and of my government and 
profession.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/30/AR2005063001680.html
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