[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12592-12593]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      SMART SECURITY AND BUSH ADMINISTRATION CONDONING OF TORTURE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, American troops are being court-martialed 
daily for their role in the heinous

[[Page 12593]]

crimes that took place in Abu Ghraib, the prison in Iraq. For sure, 
their role in these incidents is embarrassing and shameful.
  But if we are searching for the true culprits for these abuses, which 
include the sexual assault, forced sodomy, and death of Iraqi 
prisoners, we need look no further than August 1, 2002.
  That is the day the Justice Department advised the White House in a 
memo to Alberto Gonzalez, President Bush's top counsel, that torturing 
al Qaeda terrorists in captivity ``may be justified.'' The memo also 
stated that ``necessity and self-defense could provide justifications 
that would eliminate any criminal liability'' for the use of torture.
  It is not just the physical abuses that took place in Iraqi prisons 
that is appalling. The thing that is just as appalling is that legal 
abuses took place here at home too within our own government, when 
high-ranking officials in the Department of Defense and the Department 
of Justice affirmed the use of torture as a war tactic.
  The White House and the Pentagon approval of torture is not only 
shameful, it also flies in the face of America's human rights 
standards. And what happened to the United States setting a positive 
example for the rest of the world?
  That is not what Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would have us 
believe. Rumsfeld wants the American public to think that the use of 
torture was isolated to Abu Ghraib; that by merely court-martialing 
those directly responsible for inflicting the abuse who he called ``a 
few bad apples,'' well, now we have gotten to the bottom of it.
  But the fact that torture occurred in separate places and under the 
command of different interrogators leads many to believe that a more 
systematic failure took place. And I believe that the discovery of the 
Justice Department's appalling sanctioning of torture confirms that 
belief.
  Furthermore, an investigation by the New Yorker Magazine detailed a 
Pentagon operation that encouraged the physical coercion, otherwise 
known as torture, of Iraqi prisoners in an attempt to produce 
intelligence about the post-war insurgency in Iraq.
  This information was also substantiated by Newsweek Magazine, and do 
not forget about the memo that called the use of torture ``justified.'' 
What more evidence does one need to understand that this administration 
condoned and approved the use of torture?
  There is an eerie pattern at work here. First Guantanamo Bay, then 
Abu Ghraib. Now we are learning that prisoners in Afghanistan have been 
subjected to torture by American soldiers. It is becoming very clear 
that the really ``bad apples'' are at the top of the barrel. They are, 
in fact, in the White House.
  There has to be a better way, Mr. Speaker, a more intelligent way, a 
way rooted in the values that we hold dear in the United States, and 
there is. I have introduced H. Con. Res. 392, legislation to create 
smart security for the 21st century. SMART stands for Sensible, 
Multilateral, American Response to Terrorism.
  SMART treats war as an absolute last resort. It fights terrorism with 
stronger intelligence and multilateral partnerships. It controls the 
spread of weapons of mass destruction with a renewed commitment to 
nonproliferation; and it aggressively invests in the development of 
impoverished nations, with an emphasis on women's health and education.
  SMART security means interrogation, not torture. It means an open 
government, one we can trust to do the right thing; not one that will 
hide behind Justice Department memos condoning torture and secret 
Pentagon plans on how to use torture to America's advantage during war.
  The situation in the Middle East requires the best America has to 
offer. SMART security relies on the very best of America: our 
commitment to peace and freedom, our compassion for the people of the 
world, and our capacity for multilateral leadership.
  Let us be smart about our future in this country. SMART security is 
tough, SMART security is pragmatic and patriotic, and it will keep 
America safe and honored by the rest of the world.

                          ____________________