I Signed the Petition

I recently signed this petition calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Why? Because I think that in order to succeed in Iraq, we need to show the Iraqis that we believe in freedom and basic human rights for all individuals, not just pay lip service to it. The torture allegations have set us back significantly, damaging our credibility and demonstrating that we don't really believe in the principles we claim to hold so dear. Of course, the credibility issue is secondary to the issue of making Iraqi prisoners suffer pain and humiliation that no human being should be forced to endure.

The fact that these types of things have been going on longer than most people had initially thought, coupled with the fact that Rumsfeld has taken a lackadaisical attitude toward doing the right thing, makes me believe that he's been asleep at the wheel or, even worse, dismissive of the impact the torture has both on the people being tortured and the world at large. I say axe him.