Often Americans hear from non-Americans — friends, acquaintances, even strangers: “We should have the right to vote in your Presidential election too, for who you choose to be your President affects our lives as much as yours.”

You do not have to be a United States citizen to voice your opinion to the next U.S. President about an issue of profound importance to America and to the world — America’s use of torture in the “war on terror”.

Join us Americans in urging our two Presidential candidates to return the United States to its historic position of rejecting torture absolutely.

TOGETHER WE CAN HALT TORTURE

Take these actions now.

Step 1: Write a short letter to each of the Presidential candidates. Urge them, if elected, to halt all torture by United States personnel — and those under their employ.

Senator John McCain
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Barack Obama
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Step 2: Share this initiative with friends and acquaintances, including all your American friends as they may not have heard of this important initiative. Ask each of them to take these actions: 1) write the candidates, 2) invite others to do the same.

Ideas for your letter that might be helpful:

Begin by telling who you are, of what country you are a citizen, where you live.
Address your letters:
Dear Senator McCain, Dear Senator Obama.
Be respectful and polite in what you write.
The heart of your message:

Say you are writing because:

you understand he has taken a public position against torture, and you commend him for this.
you want him to know the use of torture by America is of great concern to you, and to many others in your country
you believe America's use of torture

has turned many people against America and has made it much more difficult now to be a friend and ally of America
has deprived the world of a leading defender of universal human rights, and the world now risks being a more brutal place

Urge him:

in his campaign for President to state publicly again his opposition to torture, and to announce if elected he will abolish torture completely, adding that you are certain this will gain him enormous approval abroad
if elected, as a first step in the office of President to announce that United States under his administration will return immediately to its historic position of absolute rejection of torture, adding that you know this will have an enormous positive effect on America's international image and standing

Thank him courteously for attending to your concern.