[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 155 (Tuesday, December 6, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H11078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      U.S. DETAINEE POLICY IN IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MEEHAN. Well, Mr. Speaker, if so many of these Iraqis are ready 
to come up and to provide the security, the police work in the country, 
then surely there should be no problem with putting American forces 
into the background instead of having them up front.
  The reality is that we have missed a lot of opportunities in Iraq 
because of a failed policy. Our own State Department polls say that 80 
percent of Iraqis view the United States as an unpopular occupier. That 
is right, an occupier. Forty-five percent of Iraqi citizens think it is 
morally okay to attack American troops. So if, in fact, Iraqis are 
ready to keep security in their own country, surely now is the time to 
let them do that.
  We should have had, as General Shinseki said, more security forces in 
from the beginning. He said a few hundred thousand troops. And if we 
had had them there, maybe we could have won the hearts and minds of the 
Iraqi people from the beginning when Saddam Hussein fell. But the 
Pentagon and the civilian leadership thought General Shinseki did not 
know what he was talking about and they put him out to pasture. But the 
truth is, he knew what he was talking about.
  There have been other mistakes made. In April of last year, the 
shocking photographic evidence of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib became 
public. In an instant, America's new image in the war on terror was 
published around the world with photos of Iraqi prisoners being 
subjected to cruel, unusual, and degrading treatment.

                              {time}  2015

  A report by Major General Antonio Taguba found ``numerous incidents 
of sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses,'' constituting 
``systematic and illegal abuse of detainees'' at Abu Ghraib. And, 
unfortunately, Abu Ghraib is only the most publicized case of torture 
in Iraq.
  Regrettably, it has become clear that torture of detainees in United 
States custody is not limited to Abu Ghraib or even Iraq. Since Abu 
Ghraib, there have been increasing reports of torture. Most recently, 
The Washington Post broke a story of secret CIA detention centers 
around the globe where prisoners were being sent for questioning.
  Under the leadership of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the 
United States has given up the moral high ground that we used to occupy 
as an international leader.
  Last month, President Bush defended U.S. interrogation practices, 
proclaiming, ``We do not torture.'' However, he has refused to back up 
these words. Instead, he and his administration have vehemently opposed 
a provision that would specifically prohibit the use of torture as 
official U.S. protocol.
  They supported legislation that would strip the right of detainees 
being held by the United States to the writ of habeas corpus, an 800-
year-old legal procedure grounded in the Magna Carta. Instead of 
denouncing torture is never acceptable, the administration seems to 
continually be looking for exceptions to the rule.
  In the now-infamous ``torture memo,'' along with other documents, the 
Justice Department sought to carve out an increasingly narrow 
definition of detention. Instead of firing administration officials, 
like Alberto Gonzales, who referred to the Geneva Convention as 
``quaint'' and ``obsolete,'' we have a President who promoted him to 
the chief law enforcement officer of the United States of America, 
Attorney General.
  By accepting this behavior, the Bush administration has not only hurt 
America's credibility around the world; but it has put our soldiers at 
risk.
  I have joined forces with a number of my colleagues to try to change 
this course. However, the leadership in this body has kept us from 
being heard. We have tried to obtain documents related to Federal 
investigations of detainee abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo; but 
our efforts have been shut down by the majority in this body.
  Mr. Speaker, 173 Members of this body have signed onto the Waxman 
legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate these 
abuses; but nearly 6 months after being introduced, this bill 
languishes in committee without even a hearing from the majority.
  President Bush and the majority did not want the independent 9/11 
Commission. They have also opposed independent commissions to 
investigate the Federal response to Hurricane Katrina. But just like 
the revelations that came from the 9/11 Commission, an independent 
investigation into our detainee policy would help us all in the end.
  It is time to investigate these abuses. It is never too late to 
regain our credibility around the world. I call on my colleagues to 
stand up against torture by standing firm to the belief that the United 
States has held for generations, that no individual in U.S. custody be 
subject to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, any 
time, any place, anywhere.

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