[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 21, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H4862-H4863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      GUANTANAMO BAY AND THE KORAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, over the past week or 10 days, we 
have heard a lot of haranguing about what is going on down at the 
Guantanamo detention facility regarding the prisoners who were involved 
in terrorist activities and opposed our troops over in Iraq and 
elsewhere in the world.
  And some people in the Congress have even equated what is going on 
down there with Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and what happened in World War 
II and the concentration camps. And it is reprehensible that that 
comparison is even being thought about, let alone being expressed by 
one of my colleagues.
  So I wanted to come tonight and give to the American people who may 
be paying attention back in their offices some facts about Guantanamo 
and what is going on down there.
  Forgive me for reading this to you, but I think it is extremely 
important. I want to put everything in context. Our men and women down 
there are serving with honor and dignity.
  Since September 11, 2001, more than 70,000 detainees have been 
captured in the global war on terror in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Some 
800 suspected members of al Qaeda or the Taliban have been sent to 
GITMO, no one under 18 years of age. Approximately 520 remain.
  Approximately 235 have been released, transferred to other countries, 
and 61 are awaiting release or transfer right now. GITMO houses some of 
the most dangerous individuals linked to the most dangerous 
organizations in the world, all wishing harm to the United States of 
America and our citizens: terrorist trainers and financiers, would-be 
suicide bombers, bomb makers and Osama bin Laden's own personal body 
guard. One such terrorist currently being detained at GITMO is Mohammed 
Al-Khatani, believed to be the intended 20th hijacker that attacked the 
World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and other areas back on 9/11.
  Al-Khatani and his fellow murderers and criminals have provided 
valuable information at GITMO, including organizational structure of al 
Qaeda and other terrorist groups; the extent of terrorist presence in 
Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East; al Qaeda's pursuit of weapons of 
mass destruction; terrorist skill sets; general and specialized 
operative training; and how to legitimize financial activities that are 
used to hide terrorist operations.
  Mr. Speaker, intelligence gained at Guantanamo has literally 
prevented terrorist attacks and saved possibly thousands, maybe 
hundreds of thousands, of American lives. U.S. misconduct versus 
detainee misconduct: there has been a lot of misinformation about that. 
After the much publicized and now retracted May 2005 Newsweek article 
alleging Koran abuse by the U.S. military officials, Brigadier General 
Jay Hood conducted an exhaustive investigation.

                              {time}  1730

  Brigadier General Hood's investigation determined some interesting 
findings which run contrary to the claims we are hearing about today. 
For instance, U.S. soldiers used latex gloves and clean towels while 
even handling the Koran. U.S. soldiers routinely must search detainees 
Korans when they refuse to show them for security searches. U.S. 
soldiers inspect for weapons by touching the Koran through surgical 
masks. Surgical masks are used to hang detainees' Korans during 
security searches. And when a guard accidentally knocked one of them 
off, it was fully investigated and deemed an accident.
  An outside contractor stepped on a Koran during an interrogation. 
After an investigation was completed, the contractor apologized and was 
terminated because he accidentally stepped on the Koran.
  On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, Brigadier General Hood's investigation 
found the detainees themselves regularly displayed less regard for the 
Koran. For instance, on May 14, 2003, a guard observed a detainee 
ripping up his Koran in small pieces. July 5, 2003, a guard observed 
two detainees accuse a third of not being a man. In response, the 
detainee urinated on one of their Korans. January 19, 2005, four guards 
witnessed a detainee tear up his Koran and flush it down the toilet. 
January 23, 2005, four guards witnessed a detainee rip pages out of his 
Koran and throw them down the toilet. The detainee stated he did so 
because he wanted to be moved to another camp.
  These detainees are trained to resist interrogation. The U.S. 
discovered a captured al Qaeda training manual, the terrorist training 
manual, the Manchester document, that instructs members to allege abuse 
and mistreatment and torture if they are captured.
  Mr. Speaker, it is also important to note that detainees are only 
sent to GITMO after a thorough screening process that identifies 
individuals who pose a threat to the United States of America or who 
have valuable intelligence information.
  Combatant status review tribunals. All detainees have been reviewed 
by a tribunal. There is an administrative review board which reviews 
each case at least once annually for possible release based on the 
threat. More than 130 boards have been completed to date. Military 
commissions, trials with full and vigorous representation for those 
suspected of committing war crimes, awaiting resolution of various U.S. 
Federal court rulings and reviews.
  Mr. Speaker, I am sorry I am out of time. There is more information 
that needs to be given to my colleagues and the American people. But we 
have treated those terrorists down there so well compared to the way 
they treat our people, beheading and everything that has gone on in 
Iraq and elsewhere in the world. Our troops are doing the humane main 
thing in accordance with the humanity of their fellow man, and they are 
treating those terrorists so much better than is being publicized in 
the press, and the American people have a right to know about it.
  So let's talk about what is really going on at GTMO, where I want to 
stress, that the vast majority of our brave service men and women are 
serving with honor and dignity.
  Since September 11, 2001, more than 70,000 detainees have been 
captured in the global war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  Some 800 suspected members of Al Qaeda or the Taliban have been sent 
to GTMO (no one under 18 years old).
  Approximately 520 remain; approximately 235 have been released/
transferred to other countries; and, 61 are awaiting release or 
transfer.
  GTMO houses some of the most dangerous individuals, linked to the 
most dangerous organizations in the world, all wishing to harm the 
U.S., including:
  Terrorist trainers and financiers; would-be suicide bombers; bomb 
makers; and, Osama bin Laden's own bodyguards.

[[Page H4863]]

  One such terrorist currently being detained at GTMO is Mohammed Al-
Khatani, believed to be the intended 20th 9/11 hijacker.
  Al-Khatani and his fellow murderers and criminals have provided 
valuable information, including:
  Organization structure of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups; extent 
of terrorist presence in Europe, the U.S., and the middle east; Al-
Qaeda's pursuit of WMD; terrorist skill sets: general and specialized 
operative training; and, how legitimate financial activities are used 
to hide terrorist operations.
  Mr. Speaker, intelligence gained at Guantanamo has literally 
prevented terrorist attacks and saved American lives.
  After the much publicized--and now retracted--May 2005 Newsweek 
article alleging Koran abuse by U.S. military officials, Brigadier 
General Jay Hood conducted an exhaustive investigation.
  Brig. Gen. Hood's investigation determined some interesting findings, 
which run contrary to the claims we are hearing today. For instance:
  U.S. soldiers used latex gloves and clean towels while handling the 
Koran--U.S. soldiers routinely must search detainee's Korans when they 
refuse to show them for security searches;
  U.S. soldiers inspected for weapons by touching Koran through 
surgical mask--surgical masks are used to hang detainee's Korans during 
security searches. When a guard accidentally knocked one off it was 
fully investigated and deemed an accident.

  An outside contractor stepped on a Koran during a interrogation--
after an investigation was completed, the contractor apologized and was 
terminated.
  On the contrary Mr. Speaker, Brig. Gen. Hood's investigation found 
that detainees themselves regularly displayed far less regard for the 
Koran, for instance:
  May 14, 2003--A guard observed a detainee rip his Koran into small 
pieces.
  June 5, 2003--A guard observed two detainees accuse a third of not 
being a man. In response, the detainee urinated on one of their Korans.
  January 19, 2005--Four guards witnessed a detainee tear up his Koran 
and try to flush it down the toilet.
  January 23, 2005--Four guards witnessed a detainee rip pages out of 
his Koran and throw them down the toilet. The detainee stated he did so 
because he wanted to be moved to another camp.
  These detainees are trained to resist interrogation.
  The U.S. discovered a ``captured al Qaeda training manual''--the 
Manchester Document--that instructs members to allege abuse & torture 
if captured.
  Mr. Speaker, it is also important to note that detainees are only 
sent to GTMO after a thorough screening process that identifies 
individuals who pose a threat to the U.S. or have valuable intelligence 
info.
  Combatant status review tribunals--All detainees have been reviewed 
by a tribunal.
  Administrative review boards--Review each case at least once annually 
for possible release based on threat. More than 130 boards completed to 
date.
  Military Commissions--Trials with full and vigorous representation 
for those suspected of committing war crimes. *Awaiting resolution of 
various U.S. Federal Court rulings and reviews.
  The GTMO detention facility is transparent and has been fully 
scrutinized.
  To set the record straight Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Government has 
released more than 16,000 pages of documents regarding detainee 
operation, including classified interrogation techniques.
  Since 2002, GTMO has provided granted access to the following:
  International Red Cross--Had 24/7 access to the facility at it's 
discretion and a permanent presence; Media--400 visits by 1,000 
national and international journalists; 11 Senators, 77 Represenatives, 
and 99 Congressional staff members; and, lawyers for detainees.

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