[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 59 (Monday, May 3, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S4728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ENEMY COMBATANTS

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, there are a couple of news events in the 
last 24 hours or 48 hours that I thought deserve some comment.
  Let me first talk a moment about the atrocities and abuse of enemy 
combatants--prisoners--in Iraq which has been a major concern. Many of 
my colleagues have commented upon the horrific images that have come 
out on television and in the papers. I have not seen as yet many 
comments about the Pentagon's response. That is what I wanted to 
comment on briefly.
  Officials within the Department of Defense have known at least since 
January that prisoners held as enemy combatants in Iraq have been 
subject to maltreatment, and to physical and sexual abuse. We know this 
because in January the Department of Defense relieved the camp 
commander of her duties and ordered an investigation. The investigation 
was completed in February. The 54-page report that was issued, as I 
understand it, contains horrifying details about these abuses.
  Yesterday, on the CBS news program ``Face the Nation,'' Bob 
Schieffer, the host of that program, interviewed General Myers, 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Bob Schieffer asked about this 
report. He said, ``There is a 53-page report that Sy Hersh of the New 
Yorker has obtained which says that the situation was even worse. How 
could this have happened? What is going to occur?
  The part that I thought was most disturbing was the response by 
General Myers to the question: ``Why would you not have seen the 
report?'' The investigation was carried out in December. The report was 
completed in February. ``Why would you not have seen report?'' And the 
response was: ``It is working its way up, up the chain. I will see this 
report. I am sure it just hasn't come to me yet.''

  This is an unacceptable response. If this is a concern of our 
Department of Defense, if this is a concern of the Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff, how can he state in May that he has not seen the 
report or demanded to see the report, and that it is, as he understands 
it, ``working its way up'' and will eventually come to him?
  I don't think that is the level of concern we ought to be 
demonstrating in our Department of Defense for this kind of 
circumstance. It is not the level of concern the American people would 
expect of their military commanders for this type of conduct.
  I would think if the general believed swift action was required he 
might have directed those in the command--in his command and, of 
course, that is everyone in the military--to get that report to him 
immediately upon completion, and to give him concrete action items they 
were intending to take to deal with the situation.
  Leadership and responsibility flow from the top in our military. We 
all know that. For the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to handle 
this matter in this way and indicate that, on May first, he has not 
seen the report but he assumes it is working its way up through the 
chain of command, demonstrates to all members of the military that 
humane treatment of prisoners is not a priority for our military in 
Iraq.
  That is unacceptable. That is unacceptable to this Senator. It is 
unacceptable, I believe, to the American public. I hope we can get a 
different reaction from the Pentagon and a more acceptable reaction 
from the Pentagon to this horrific state of affairs that has come to 
our attention.

                          ____________________