Editorial
\nUnsung Heroes
\nPublished: July 2, 2011<\/p>\n
A small gesture can mean a lot. That is the simple but compelling idea animating a drive to gain official honors for the patriots, both civilian and in uniform, who stood up against the Bush administration\u2019s immoral torture policies.
\nRelated – Times Topic: Antonio M. Taguba<\/p>\n
The idea of bestowing honors on these heroes was raised in an April 28 Op-Ed article in The Times by Jameel Jaffer of the American Civil Liberties Union and Larry Siems of the PEN American Center. They said that while senior Bush administration officials approved egregious interrogation and detention practices, including torture, there were dissenters throughout the government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who stayed true to our values and stood up against cruelty are worthy of a wide range of civilian and military commendations, up to and including the Presidential Medal of Freedom,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n
Worthy candidates include Alberto Mora, the former Navy general counsel who waged a lonely battle to revoke Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld\u2019s interrogation directive authorizing abuses at the Guant\u00e1namo Bay prison; and Antonio Taguba, the Army major general who says he was forced to retire after his frank report on the sadistic treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib. There are others. …more<\/a><\/p>\n