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U.S. Representative John Murtha and Former Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora Named 2006 JFK Profile in Courage Award Recipients

…Congressman Murtha, a ranking member and former chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, a Vietnam combat veteran and a retired Marine Corps colonel with 37 years of service, was recognized for the difficult and courageous decision of conscience he made in November, 2005, when he reversed his support for the Iraq war and called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the conflict. Murtha’s distinguished service in the Marines and the Marine Corps Reserves, and his expertise on defense policy issues, had long made him an eminent voice on matters of military engagement. His unexpected call for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq generated protracted and substantive national debate on the progress, policies and objectives of the U.S. presence in Iraq. But his dissent also made him the target of withering political attacks and resulted in efforts by political opponents to discredit his Vietnam War decorations.

Alberto J. Mora, the former general counsel to the United States Navy, was recognized for the moral and political courage he demonstrated in waging a 2 1/2 –year behind-the-scenes battle with Pentagon brass and civilian leaders over U.S. military policy regarding the treatment of detainees held by the United States as part of the war on terror. Mora, one of the Pentagon’s top civilian lawyers, repeatedly challenged the Bush administration’s policy on the coercive interrogation of terror suspects, arguing that such practices violated the law, verged on torture and could ultimately expose senior officials to prosecution. Mora warned Pentagon officials two years before the Abu Ghraib prison scandal that circumventing international agreements on torture and detainees’ treatment would invite abuse of the sort that was eventually exposed at Abu Ghraib.

“Congressman John Murtha and Alberto Mora exemplify the kind of courage my father admired most,” said Caroline Kennedy, President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. “When others were unwilling to do so, each man recognized a moral obligation to speak out against policies he believed were misguided and contrary to our national interest. Their courage has inspired others to follow their example, and our government is fortunate to have public servants with such integrity.”

The U.S. has run amok; former CIA analyst 

“I do not wish to be associated, however remotely, with an agency engaged in torture,” wrote Ray McGovern in a recent letter as he returned his Intelligence Commendation Award medallion to Congressman Pete Hoekstra, R-MI, and Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

At the time, McGovern was wearing an orange jump suit, similar to those worn at Guantanamo Bay, with a gag over his mouth on which was written the word, “torture.” Along with 15 other individuals, dressed alike, he wandered the halls of Congress.

“It was simply a slow, dead man walking kind of thing,” said McGovern, who said the reaction he received was interesting. “I had expected turbulence, the worst I experienced was people averting their eyes and the most common reaction was people looking at me, silence,” he said.

He described the experience as having “a certain somberness and reverence.”

There were more volunteers wanting to take part, he said, but “not enough jump suits.”

A 27-year veteran of the CIA, spanning administrations from John F. Kennedy to George Herbert Walker Bush, the current president’s father, McGovern has taken, in recent years, a vocal stand on several aspects of the current Bush administration’s handling of the war in Iraq and ensuing events.

Returning his medal for “especially commendable service” took a lot of thought. “I had been thinking of ways I could disassociate myself from torture,” he said, describing it as a response for his grandchildren who, he said, would ask him what role he played in current events.