[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 69 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H3021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DONALD RUMSFELD SHOULD RESIGN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 20, 2004, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend my hometown newspaper, the 
Asbury Park Press, ran an editorial calling on Secretary of Defense 
Donald Rumsfeld to resign. It was a stunning criticism from a newspaper 
that is not known to be partisan. And I would like to take this 
opportunity to simply read the editorial.
  ``The United States needs to send this message to the world. We 
remain a civilized Nation. We respect international law. We respect the 
dignity of all individuals. We will at all times abide by the Geneva 
Convention governing the humane conduct of prisoner of war and apply 
that standard to all detainees.
  ``We hold ourselves to the highest moral standards and will not 
tolerate those who do not. And we will hold our leaders accountable 
when our conduct falls short. That message should be accompanied by the 
resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. If he is not asked to 
resign by President Bush, he should do the honorable thing and step 
down on his own.
  ``The case against Rumsfeld, who has overseen the conduct of the war 
in Iraq, transcends the prisoner abuses at Abu Ghraib, but the scandal 
is an important element of it. The photos and accounts of the treatment 
of Iraqi detainees at the hands of American soldiers have shocked and 
disgusted Americans and the world. They have brought the realities of 
war whose daily horrors have largely been kept from public view into 
the national consciousness. They have shown that we are not immune from 
committing evil acts.
  ``Over the past 2 years the International Red Cross, Human Rights 
Watch, and Amnesty International have all raised concerns about 
patterns of mistreatment of detainees by U.S. interrogators in 
Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay. Rumsfeld's explanations for how 
the abuses were allowed to occur and how they escaped his attention for 
so long have not been convincing. Punishing only those directly 
responsible for the inhumane actions is not enough, not given the 
gravity of the offenses and the damage they have done to our Nation's 
reputation and our ability to win the war of ideas in the Arab world.
  ``There are many other reasons why it should be in America's best 
interest for Rumsfeld to step aside. As Defense Secretary he has 
mismanaged the war in Iraq every step of the way. He helped sell the 
idea that Saddam Hussein was working in concert with al Qaeda and posed 
a clear nuclear and biological threat to the United States. He ignored 
the advice of many of our long-standing allies and top Pentagon 
officials to continue what had been a successful strategy of isolating 
Saddam while continuing our search for weapons of mass destruction.
  ``Rumsfeld failed to anticipate the hostile reception we received 
following the `liberation.' He miscalculated the troop strength needed 
to stabilize the country. He left Baghdad and other major cities 
unprotected from looters and thugs. He left museums, hospitals, 
government ministries and facilities essential to a functioning civil 
society unguarded. He failed to provide the necessary support and 
manpower and material for our military. And he allowed our military 
prisons to operate with inadequate staffing, training, and oversight.
  ``After the fall of Baghdad, instead of trying to internationalize 
the occupation and the rebuilding effort, Rumsfeld and other 
administration leaders chose to go it alone, putting virtually all the 
costs associated with the occupation, financial and human, on American 
soldiers.
  ``To date more than 770 American soldiers have died in Iraq. Another 
4,100 have been wounded. We have committed more than $160 billion to 
the invasion, occupation, and reconstruction of Iraq. Estimates suggest 
the cost could easily reach $600 billion even if the June 30 deadline 
for handing over political control to the Iraqis is met--a dubious 
proposition.
  ``Our leaders in Washington need to send a clear message to the world 
that we have not abandoned our ideals. Rumsfeld's resignation would 
help underscore the point. More important, our leaders need to 
reinforce that message with the American people who are growing 
increasingly fearful that we have lost our way.''
  That is the end of the editorial, Mr. Speaker. I just want to say 
that I totally associate myself with the Asbury Park Press editorial. I 
think they are absolutely right. I do not think anybody has ever said 
it so well.
  Mr. Speaker, I recently called on Secretary Rumsfeld to resign and I 
would urge my colleagues to do the same. Next, I would urge the 
President to take immediate steps to internationalize this conflict and 
build a strong coalition of partners in Iraq. The President should 
convene an immediate international summit on Iraq. The United States 
must go in with a plan that provides for new international arrangements 
to manage the political security and economic aspects of Iraq's 
transitions, and includes reorienting American policy to reflect those 
new international arrangements. We cannot simply continue to go it 
alone. We must internationalize this conflict. And I think that has 
also been a major part of what the Asbury Park Press says in this 
editorial.

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