Letters of the Day

today we get two winners:

Catholic Sister Dianna Ortiz visited Des Moines on May 6 and spoke tearfully about the torture she endured while serving as a missionary in Guatemala in the late 1980s.

She has continued to be "tortured" by our government during a long struggle to obtain full disclosure about her case and the United States' involvement.

Yet, the hardest thing for Ortiz, and myself, to understand is that our country continues to accept torture as an option. President Bush has proclaimed, "We do not torture." Yet many examples have refuted this, including Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay and the alleged CIA secret jails in Europe.

Where is the outrage about our country's involvement in torture? We must take the lead in following international law and not become terrorists ourselves. Zero tolerance of torture is the only acceptable option.

- Jane Alderman, Ankeny.

and

I had the privilege of hearing Sister Dianna Ortiz speak about the torture she endured at the hands of men trained by the U.S. military. She also told of the thousands of others who are being tortured every day. As those of us in attendance witnessed the toll the torture has taken on this small but courageous woman, we understood when she asked, "Where is the outrage?"

After hearing about the abuses even children are suffering at the hands of torturers, I can no longer be a bystander.

The recent Amnesty International report, "The Threat of a Bad Example: Undermining International Standards," exposes the United States' torture of those captured in the war on terror. As taxpaying and voting citizens, we are responsible for what our government does in our name. On behalf of Ortiz and her continued suffering, and all victims and families of victims of torture, I say no more torture in my name.

- Dixie J. Webb, Ankeny.

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