[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 73 (Friday, May 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 19, 2004

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the 
Amendment by my colleagues Representative Murtha and Representative 
Weldon that would express the sense of Congress that the Secretary of 
Defense should assist the Iraqi Government in destroying the Abu Ghraib 
prison and replacing it with a modern detention facility. This 
Amendment is especially relevant because it is only applicable if the 
Iraqi Governing Council agrees that they would like to destroy the Abu 
Ghraib prison and would like American help in doing so.
  While I support this Amendment I do hope that this will not be the 
only step taken to try to undo the damage done by the Iraqi torture 
scandal. We may be able to erase the structure of the Abu Ghraib prison 
and we may be able to construct a new state-of-the-art prison facility 
in its place, but until we take the proper steps to bring all 
perpetrators to justice and correct our interrogation procedures; we 
will not be able to erase the image of Americans torturing prisoners 
that is etched in the mind of Iraqis and indeed in the mind of people 
worldwide. The court-martial of a few enlisted soldiers is not enough 
for a problem that has now proven to be endemic. There must be true 
accountability from the leadership in the Armed Forces. The enlisted 
soldiers can not be the only ones involved in this scandal, the Armed 
Forces have always stressed a strict chain of command and everyone in 
that chain must be held accountable for this multitude of despicable 
acts. Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz can not hide 
behind their office, they bear the responsibility for this scandal and 
so far I remain unsatisfied with their response to it.
  Again, I feel that this Amendment to assist the Iraqi Government in 
destroying the Abu Ghraib prison and replacing it with a modern 
detention facility is one that is worthy of passage. This is both a 
symbolic and physical gesture to the Iraqi people that our troops are 
in Iraq to tear down the past of Saddam Hussein and rebuild a new 
democratic nation. We must all work to make sure that these gestures 
are followed by substantive actions to correct our significant 
missteps.

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