Local Activists Protest Karl “Torture Defender” Rove and Ellen “Missile Defense Booster” Tauscher

Where: Concord Hilton Hotel, 1970 Diamond Blvd., Concord, CA

When: Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 5:00pm

Concord, CA –– Activists from CODEPINK and the Mt Diablo Peace & Justice Center will gather in front of the Concord Hilton Hotel at 5:00pm on Thursday, January 22nd to protest the speaking engagement of Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff to GW Bush, and recent defender/debater of torture techniques on national TV, and former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, who promotes so-called nuclear “missile defense.”

“As activists and citizens, we condemn torture as barbaric, and we denounce Karl Rove’s recent defense of torture techniques and the torture program on national television programs,” said Dr. Susan Harman of East Bay CODEPINK. “Torture is immoral and illegal.  All those who defend it and practice it should be prosecuted. We are, however, grateful to Rove for explicitly implicating former President Bush in torture.”

As a member of the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), Karl Rove pushed the lies about WMDs in Iraq during the buildup to the US invasion. Rove’s strategic communications task force within WHIG wrote speeches by senior Bush administration officials, emphasizing Iraq's purported nuclear threat. In 2003, Rove leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame to punish her husband for publicly calling into question the claims about WMDs.

Activists will also be protesting the presence of Ellen Tauscher. "As a member of Congress, Ellen Tauscher was a leading advocate for the nuclear weapons laboratories, and as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control she was a leading apologist for U.S. nuclear weapons policies that pose profound obstacles for disarmament," said Andy Lichterman, attorney and board member with Western States Legal Foundation.

A letter to the East Bay Leadership Council will be delivered as part of this action.

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