The Diplomatic Faithful

FaithfulAmerica.org, which describes itself as "an online community of people of faith who want to build a more just and compassionate nation," will run commercials on the al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya Arabic language networks apologizing for the torture of Iraqi detainees by U.S. servicepeople and military contractors. The ad states, "As Americans of faith, we express our deep sorrow at abuses committed in Iraqi prisons." FaithfulAmerica.org spokesperson Bishop Melvin Talbert is an ecumenical officer of the United Methodist Church, to which George Bush belongs. A State Department spokesperson would not comment on the ads, but former ambassador to Syria Edward Djerejian said they "could be harmful ... [if they are] an attempt to criticize the current administration," but if they just "say torture is contrary to our religious beliefs, then that I think would be helpful."