...as well as Senators Levin (MI) and Stabenow (MI) and Congressman Peters (MI-09) (those versions slightly edited--"he" instead of "you", etc):
Dear President Obama,
A Special Prosecutor is needed to investigate, prosecute and hopefully convict both those in the Bush Administration who were guilty of torturing prisoners as well as those who ordered torture to be committed.
Yesterday, in releasing the infamous CIA Torture Memos (or whatever they're officially titled), you stated that the Department of Justice will not be prosecuting any of the CIA officers who perpetrated these horrific crimes.
Your justification for this--that this is a time for "reflection" instead of "retribution" rings hollow, to say the least.
I understand the enormous pressure that you face to let these crimes slide, to "move forward" and so on. I am eternally grateful for your vows to never let these sorts of crimes happen on your watch.
However, Mr. President, you will not always be there to prevent these atrocities. In another 4--or, hopefully, 8--years, someone else will be the President, and while I hope that the next President, and every other President in the future will hold their administration to the high standards that you have set, there is no guarantee that this will be the case.
By refusing to prosecute those who have tortured, in spite of the overwhelming evidence of their crimes, you are setting a terrible precedent for the future.
Prosecution of these crimes would not be "retribution", it would be proving that we are a nation of law, and more importantly, would go a long way towards restoring our collective moral image both domestically and abroad. It is the right thing to do, even if you aren't able to get a single conviction (which I find unlikely).
The "only following orders" defense that you used in your statement was found to be unacceptable during the Nuremberg trials after World War II, and they are unacceptable now.
While I respect you tremendously on numerous other issues, failing to prosecute what were clearly war crimes will reflect terribly on your character and the image of the United States.
If you do prosecute these crimes, you will face tremendous opposition from the Republican Party and other forces. However, you will also have more than equal support from those who supported you during your historic campaign and decent people everywhere, both at home and abroad.
I beg you to reconsider.
Thank you,
(signed)
Per mcjoan's diary, I've also signed the petitions posted by the ACLU and FDL.
Update: Thanks to Lady Libertine in the comments for alerting me to Amnesty International's own version, although I think that just sends an email from you to your Senator/Congressman, as opposed to being an actual petition.