The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, it is with a mix of anger, sadness, and frustration that I rise in support of the resolution that the House passed earlier today.
Our words can do little to mitigate the damage that has been inflicted upon our Nation, our Armed Forces, and our hopes for better relations with the Islamic world.
Nevertheless, we must offer these words to the Iraqi victims and to the world. All of us have seen the photographs of smiling American military personnel mocking hooded, naked Iraqi prisoners. These images of those degraded are vile. The smiles of those who would degrade are grotesque.
The soldiers in the photos must not become the face of the American-lead occupation in Iraq or of the American GI.
Sixty years ago at the end of World War II, the American soldier was seen as a smiling supplier of chocolate bars. Our men and women in uniform must not become known around the world for degrading and humiliating unarmed, naked detainees.
I am deeply proud of our military. The vast majority of our men and women in uniform serve with bravery, compassion and honor. Sadly, the barbaric conduct at the Abu Ghraib prison reflects upon all our troops and it is up to all of us, the Congress, the executive branch, the justice system and the military itself to address this blight upon our record. I am glad that several of our senior commanders in Iraq have publicly apologized to the Iraqi people. I also believe that it was important for President Bush to express his personal regret to the Iraqi people and his commitment to a full investigation as he did during two interviews with Arabic language television yesterday.
I have been to Iraq and met with our young men and women who are serving there. The most disturbing aspect of this reprehensible conduct at the prison is that it undermines and endangers the lives of American soldiers who are diligently working every day in the most difficult conditions. All of the countless acts of good will performed by our soldiers, the rebuilding of hospitals, the opening of schools, the reuniting of families, the building of civic institutions and the foundation of representative government, all of these are undercut by these acts.
Our campaign against terror has also been weakened. The war on terror and the war in Iraq are ultimately wars of ideas. The idea of a civil society under the rule of law, respective of human rights and individual liberties is at war with the idea of a closed society devoid of the right to speak as one chooses, without the free exercise of religion and propagated by indiscriminate and murderous violence against innocent men, women and children. The recent events at Abu Ghraib prison, a place identified with the barbarity of the Saddam Hussein regime, are a major setback in the war of ideas. A key element of this war has been our attempt to convince the Islamic world that America and the West are not out to humiliate and destroy Muslims. The damage to that effort is incalculable and the soldiers who committed these acts have betrayed the bravery, dignity and the sacrifice of their fellow troops.
This resolution is our statement to the world and particularly to Iraq and the Islamic world that the people of the United States are united in their condemnation of the stomach-turning acts of abuse that were perpetrated in our name. But this is only the beginning. We need a thorough investigation to find out both where the breakdown in the chain of command occurred and why Congress was left out of the loop, even though the military has been investigating these incidents for months and the investigation by Major General Antonio Taguba was completed in late February, 2 ½ months ago. We also need to determine whether the conduct at Abu Ghraib was an isolated set of incidents or whether, as some have suggested, similar acts were committed at other detention facilities in Iraq.
Nearly two centuries ago, Alexis de Toqueville is reputed to have said, "America is great because America is good; if America ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." That was true then. It is still true today. Our greatness has been built upon countless acts of goodness and not even an episode like this can undo that proud history, but it should serve as a reminder that our Nation has succeeded because Americans are strivers. We are always looking to better ourselves, our communities, our country and the community of nations. We now face a great challenge to that perception of goodness and we must all rise to meet that challenge.
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