[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 12, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H2889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SMART SECURITY AND IRAQI PRISONERS OF WAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I was absolutely outraged last week when 
along with the rest of the world I learned that U.S. service members 
and private American contractors in Iraq had abused and tortured Iraqi 
prisoners of war and had forced them to commit heinous sexual acts. War 
is devastating, it is terrifying, but even in war there is no place for 
actions such as these. The abuse inflicted by a few soldiers is causing 
much ill will around the world. What is worse, I feel it will further 
embolden our enemies to commit acts of terrorism against the United 
States and horrific acts of abuse against our own troops should they be 
captured.
  But almost equally reprehensible was the response of our Commander in 
Chief to the abuses that took place at Abu Ghraib, the prison in Iraq. 
Instead of claiming full responsibility for the actions of members of 
the United States military, President Bush expressed his regrets that 
the abuses had occurred while distancing himself from those abuses. At 
another time, President Harry Truman did not try to distance himself 
from abuses that occurred during his watch. In his January 1953 
farewell address to the American people, President Truman made an 
important assertion in that regard, saying, and I quote, ``The 
President, whoever he is, has to decide. He can't pass the buck to 
anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That's his job.'' 
President Truman is also the person who made famous the quote, ``The 
buck stops here.'' President Bush would be well served to take notice 
of this quotation which Harry Truman thought was so important that he 
kept it as a sign on his desk in the Oval Office.
  Mr. Speaker, the buck does not stop with the young woman who was 
photographed holding an Iraqi prisoner on a leash. The buck does not 
stop with Brigadier General Jannice Karpinski, the U.S. general in 
charge of running the prisons in Iraq. The buck does not stop with 
Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, one of the highest-ranking military 
officers in Iraq. The buck does not even stop with Donald Rumsfeld, the 
Secretary of Defense. The buck stops with the Commander in Chief. At 
the moment, that happens to be George W. Bush. That is where the buck 
stops. Remember what Harry Truman said at his 1953 farewell address. He 
said the President cannot pass the buck to anybody.
  There has to be a better way, because the Bush doctrine of 
unilateralism and passing the buck within his own administration has 
been tried and it has failed. It is time for a new national security 
strategy, one that emphasizes brains instead of brawn, one that is 
consistent with the best American values. I have introduced legislation 
to create a SMART security platform for the 21st century, H. Con. Res. 
392. SMART stands for ``sensible, multilateral American response to 
terrorism.'' SMART treats war as an absolute last resort. It fights 
terrorism with stronger intelligence and multilateral partnerships. It 
controls the spread of weapons of mass destruction with a renewed 
commitment to nonproliferation. And it aggressively invests in the 
development of impoverished nations with an emphasis on women's health 
and education.
  Remember, the buck stops with the Commander in Chief, the President 
of the United States. No more passing the buck, Mr. President. Instead, 
let us rely on the very best of America, our commitment to peace and 
freedom, our compassion for the people of the world and our capacity 
for multilateral leadership. Let us be smart. Let us be smart about our 
future. SMART security is tough, it is pragmatic, it is patriotic, and 
it will keep America safe.

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