[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION TO 
                         REVIEW DETAINEE ABUSES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 21, 2005

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, it has been over a year since the 
photographs of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib shocked the nation and the 
world. Since then, the allegations of mistreatment, abuse, and torture 
of detainees in U.S. custody have multiplied.
  In just the past few weeks, new evidence emerged of the desecration 
of the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, the involvement of Navy Seals in 
beating detainees in Iraq, and the gruesome, ultimately fatal torture 
of Afghans at the U.S. detention center at Bagram Airbase in 
Afghanistan.
  The reports of detainee abuse are undermining one of our Nation's 
most valuable assets: our reputation for respect for human rights.
  And they are endangering our armed forces and inciting hatred against 
the United States. As Senator Joe Biden said, Guantanamo is the 
``greatest propaganda for the recruitment of terrorists worldwide.''
  Our national interest demands a thorough independent review of the 
detention system. We need answers to basic questions: What happened? 
Who is responsible? And how do we move forward?
  The Pentagon's internal investigations certainly do not meet this 
standard. The resulting reports have contained conflicting conclusions, 
and some have been little more than whitewashes.
  And in Congress, we have ignored our fundamental constitutional 
responsibility to investigate.
  When the Abu Ghraib photos surfaced, the House held a mere five hours 
of public hearings. The Senate review was more extensive but stopped 
far short of assessing individual accountability up the chain of 
command.
  Our troops deserve better. Our nation deserves better.
  Some of the allegations that have been replayed repeatedly around the 
world may not be true. President Bush calls them ``absurd.''
  But we won't know what's true and what's not true unless we 
investigate. And when we refuse to conduct thorough, independent 
investigations, the rest of the world thinks we have something to hide.
  The independent commission established by the bill we are introducing 
today would address this huge oversight gap. It would establish a 10-
member bipartisan commission modeled on the successful 9-11 Commission.
  The Commission would conduct a thorough review of the extent of the 
abuses, what individuals are responsible for the abuses, and what 
policies facilitated the abuses. The Commission would also make 
recommendations on legislative and executive actions necessary to 
prevent future abuses.
  The bill already has 172 cosponsors, and it has the support of key 
leaders in Congress like Nancy Pelosi, the Minority Leader; Steny 
Hoyer, the Minority Whip; Ike Skelton, the ranking Democrat on Armed 
Services; and Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat on Intelligence. I 
commend these senior members for their leadership.
  And I urge my other colleagues to join us in demonstrating that our 
system of checks and balances still works and that we are a nation 
committed to respect for human rights.

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