Veteran group opposing Gonzales nomination

Washington, DC, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- More than 2,200 military veterans have signed a petition opposing the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to be the next U.S. attorney general.

The campaign against Gonzales - who now heads the Office of Legislative Counsel at the Justice Department -- is being led by Veterans for Common Sense, a group organized in 2002 in opposition to several of President George W. Bush's national security policies.

Retired Brig. Gen. Evelyn Foote, who commanded the 42nd Military Police Group in Germany from July 1983 to July 1985, is leading the group's charge against Gonzales.

Gonzales gained notoriety earlier this year with the revelation of the so-called torture memos -- a series of legal opinions that suggested the Geneva Conventions could be selectively applied to the global war on terror and the treatment of prisoners, and which parsed the meaning of "torture" under the treaty.

Foote notes in her letter to veterans the "absolute requirement" that was on her and other military members to adhere to the Geneva Conventions at all times.

"Those priorities have been overridden by some people in the administration who believe that in order to fight terrorism, we have to abandon our standards and honor," Foote wrote. "We have seen an administration twist legal logic in order to redefine torture and try to make it acceptable. And, sadly, we have seen the deaths in custody of prisoners held by U.S. forces... Please join us in telling the Senate that torture is not an American value."

Gonzales is expected to be easily approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.