Congressional candidate Perriello defends ads on Arab TV

The challenger in the 5th District congressional race helped raise money to pay for ads on Arab TV apologizing for treatment Iraqi prisoners have received from U.S. forces.
Tom Perriello was co-director of FaithfulAmerican.com in 2004. The group raised about $35,000 for commercials that appeared on both al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya and featured comments from religious leaders in the U.S. who apologized for the torture some in Iraqi prisons received and called the acts sinful.
“At a point where the dialogue between America and the Arab world appears to be increasingly dehumanized and antagonistic, we believe that a sincere expression of regret that comes from an authentic place of faith can have a profound reconciliatory role,” Perriello told the Washington Post when the ads ran.
Perriello said the money for the ads was raised on the Internet in about two days. He said the fundraising formula was similar to MoveOn.org, a liberal Internet site that has raised millions for political candidates and causes.
Perriello defended the ads.
“America’s greatest strength has always been our moral leadership, and torture is un-American. As a national security analyst, I know the use of torture creates bad intelligence and puts our troops at risk, and as a person of faith, I know it threatens the soul of our country,” he said.
The advertisement stated, “As Americans of faith, we express our deep sorrow at abuses committed in Iraqi prisons. We stand in solidarity with all those in Iraq and everywhere who demand justice and human dignity. We condemn the sinful and systemic abuses committed in our name, and pledge to work to right these wrongs.”
U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode hasn’t seen the ad, but said he wouldn’t spend campaign funds on Arab state-operated television. Goode added that Al-Qaeda uses al-Jazeera to release news updates, and the network has previously aired the beheadings of U.S. troops.
“It goes to show he’s a prolific fundraiser,” Goode said.
The Rev. Doug Barber, pastor of Westover Baptist Church, said the apology ads offend him, even though he can’t condone torture as a Christian. Barber said there are cases of prisoner abuse in all wars, and he understands why it is necessary.
“Personally, that would be very offensive to me as a patriotic American,” he said Friday. “I do not believe that we need to do anything that encourages or supports terrorism or gives any kind of excuse for our response to 911 in particular and terrorism in general.”
Barber said using torture techniques on prisoners can be useful to save lives.
    The Rev. Wilson Carter, retired Episcopal priest, supported Perriello’s effort.
“I would think he’s just the kind of person we need to represent us over the next eight years to undo all the damage the Bush Administration has done to this nation – including our international reputation,” Carter said. “The torture of prisoners is unforgivable and we should apologize to the entire world for our behavior. We should close down Guantanamo and made it very clear to the world that we will engage in such practices.”
• Contact Bernard Baker at or (434) 791-7986.