Iraq

IRAQ

Mr. SESSIONS. I want to share a few thoughts about the war in Iraq. It is an important matter for the entire world. It is a defining moment for us as we confront terrorism and instability and violence in the world. How can we make this world better?

I had the honor Wednesday of hosting seven Iraqi citizens at the meeting of the Senate Steering Committee which I chair. These were courageous men who wanted to personally thank the Senate and the American people for liberating their nation.
They urged us to stay the course in Iraq. I ask unanimous consent that the article in the Washington Post about these seven men be printed in the RECORD at the conclusion of my remarks.

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

(See exhibit No. 1.)

Mr. SESSIONS. These Iraqis have a special perspective on the Abu Ghraib prison. It was there that they each had their right hand amputated by the Saddam Hussein regime. Their crime? Doing business with American dollars. Those were atrocities. That was life in Abu Ghraib before the liberation in Iraq, substantially different than under the American Army, even allowing for the physical abuse and psychological abuse we have seen in the photographs recently.

There were several hours of videotapes that were discovered and found of other atrocities that came to my attention. This was discovered in the seizure of records and documents in Iraq by the American soldiers. People's hands, fingers, tongues, heads being cut off, as well as people being pushed off buildings-all on videotape.

These were not low-level rogues. These were not isolated instances. It was systematic torture by a regime that used torture, mutilation, and murder as a means to a political end. The videotapes were made, in fact, at Saddam Hussein's request and direction so he could be certain his brutal orders were carried out. In fact, that is what dictators such as Saddam Hussein do. If you have seen some of the films of the history of Saddam Hussein's regime, you know he used random terror, random violence, death and destruction and mutilation as a tool to instill fear throughout the populace and help strengthen his hold on that country and to make sure nobody would cross him.

America can never make these Iraqi men whole, but the sacrifice of our troops has made them free and has given each one of them a new life and a new hope. Thanks to the good will of doctors and businesses that donated money and services, they have been fitted with prosthetic hands. As I greeted each one of them in the Mansfield Room Wednesday, they proudly extended their newly restored right hands. I have shaken many important hands during my political life, but never was I more honored to shake a hand of one than these men.

Sunday is June 6, the 60th anniversary of D-Day. I would like to read a prayer that President Roosevelt delivered after the invasion. As I read it, I ask my colleagues to reflect on our mission and our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Roosevelt said:

Almighty God, our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor; a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity . . . They fight to end conquest . . . They fight to liberate . . . They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know by Thy grace and the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

Just as we did 60 years ago, our President and our people today pray for our brave soldiers in Iraq. They are serving superbly. They are serving with professionalism. They are serving with restraint and poise and discipline under very difficult circumstances. They are out in crowds every day. Most people are friendly. You never know when someone out there may not be. Sometimes there are protests and people are shouting and raising guns in the air and chanting or even throwing rocks. We have seen them on television show discipline and poise and restraint and allow this spasm of anger to vent itself because, in the long run, that is probably going to be healthy as the Iraqis go through this painful transition from oppression to a decent government.

So we pray for their return home. We celebrate the magnificence of their service and the triumphs of their cause. Our cause is just. Our resolve must be firm. Our troops are brave and courageous. Some things have changed in 60 years. We have the ability to win a war much faster with less risk to our troops but still at great risk, and much less risk to innocent civilians.
Medical technology allows us to heal wounded soldiers faster and provide help to amputees. The Internet allows photographs of misconduct to reach the public with lightning speed. But some things remain the same. Mothers and wives of soldiers worry just as much. The pain felt by the families of a lost soldier hurts just as much. Those who live under tyranny, fear, with a thirst for liberty and a desire for peace, are just as grateful to those who bring them peace, liberty, and freedom. We pray for the Iraqi people that their suffering be ended, that they be liberated from tyranny.

Shortly before I met with the seven Iraqis who had their hands cut off as punishment by Saddam Hussein, I was meeting a group of schoolchildren from Alabama. I told them I was going to be meeting with these Iraqis, and the schoolteacher called me aside, a young teacher who was with the group. He said: Just tell them-this was so sincere-just tell these people we care about them. We want nothing but them to have a good government, and we wish them the best in the future. He said: Tell
them that is not Washington talking. That is the people of America. That is what we want.

I shared that with them because I thought it was a meaningful expression of American love and affection for the good and decent people of Iraq who suffered so long.

So we pray for the Iraqi people. We pray that their suffering will be ended, that their liberation will continue, that tyranny will not return, and that economic progress and scientific advancement and education will flourish in their country.
D-Day brought about the last days of Nazi tyranny. As we liberated the country and the world was horrified to see the images of brutality, torture and murder that were brought to light in the prison camps, the world will forever remember what occurred there. We have a permanent record of those horrible events at the Holocaust Museum. They remind us to be vigilant forever against tyrants, wherever they be.

I urge my colleagues to meet with these seven Iraqis, to view the videotapes that showed what happened in those days under Saddam Hussein. This was Abu Ghraib prison not long ago. As we look at the unfortunate actions at Abu Ghraib, as our military proceeds to investigate and take actions about our failures there, I urge my colleagues to reflect on the liberation
of Abu Ghraib and to gather some perspective. Nothing we can say makes what happened in Abu Ghraib by our soldiers right. It was wrong. It cannot be justified. Our Nation was humiliated, and it occurred under our watch.

But to put it in perspective, we must reflect on who we are as a people, what is our purpose. Our Government investigated the images of abuse with the intent to prosecute those who committed criminal acts. Saddam Hussein investigated the images of mutilation to ensure that his torture was carried out.

American soldiers have shed their own blood to bring freedom to the Iraqi people and security to America and the world. Saddam Hussein spilled the blood of others to maintain his rein of terror and to expand his dictatorship. America wants peace, democracy, and freedom for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. The terrorists want to destroy America and the values we hold dear.

President Bush, Secretary Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Secretary Powell, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, our troops, this very day are working to secure our Nation, to secure Iraq, and to establish a framework for an Iraqi government where state-sponsored torture, mutilation, murder, and terrorism can be a painful memory of the past. And the American people understand it. They understand what we are trying to do, that we only want the best for Iraq. They want our Government to succeed. But this is an election year and we have had some comments that, frankly, are wrong and need to be talked about.

I have waited. I have not responded aggressively. But the senior Senator from Massachusetts, summarizing his take on the Abu Ghraib abuses and photographs that came out, said:

Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management: U.S. management.

That is not correct, Mr. President. That is absolutely wrong. It has undermined and is an attack on our soldiers who serve in Iraq. It makes their job more difficult, it puts them at greater risk, and it provides ammunition for those in Iraq who are frustrated and want to oppose American efforts there. It was not good and it was wrong and should not have been said. You watch Saddam's torture videos and try to explain to the American people how the actions of President Bush or Secretary Rumsfeld or General Myers or General Abizaid or General Sanchez equate with this kind of activity. No, sir, that is not correct. It is wrong.

Saddam persecuted the people in prison. We are prosecuting people who violated the law of the United States concerning how to handle prisoners. Within days of the report being made public, a single young soldier brought forth this information. Within a day, a criminal investigation was ongoing. Within a week, a public statement was made that abuses had occurred and an investigation was ongoing. A formal investigation by a two-star general was commenced. And we are making every effort to find out what happened, who did it, and punish those who did it. Some have already been court-martialed and sentenced to prison, and others will be. That is what the American people do.

When I was with the seven Iraqis who had their hands cut off by Saddam Hussein in his prison, one of the reporters asked one of them about these abuses. He said, well, President Bush-that is not his policy; it was Saddam Hussein's policy. The American people are punishing those who did wrong. They were not punished under Saddam Hussein. They were encouraged.

I think we need to talk about this. Former Vice President Gore, in a recent speech at New York University, said:

How dare they subject us to such dishonor and disgrace. How dare they drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud of Saddam Hussein's torture prison.

That is the kind of broad-based condemnation of the American soldiers who, at this moment-because three-fourths plus of this body sent them to Iraq to carry out an American policy to strike down terrorism and create a new government there-are putting their lives at risk for us because we sent them there. They ought not to be condemned in this fashion by the former
Vice President of the United States of America. I don't know what has gotten into his head. It is wrong.

Last night, I was at Walter Reed and I met great soldiers. Time and again, they told me they want to go back. Some of them have lost limbs. Some are in serious condition. Some are coming along nicely and, in fact, are going back to Iraq. These are the best of America. They love this country, and they love the rule of law. They care about doing the right thing, and they want to see our policies succeed-the policies we sent them to carry out. We sent them. We owe them support and help and affirmation. We don't need political second-guessing by armchair quarterbacks.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

[From the Washington Post, May 24, 2004]

FOR SEVEN IRAQIS, A VITAL PART OF LIFE IS RESTORED
(By Vince Bzdek)

HOUSTON.-Nine years ago in Abu Ghraib prison, on the night before doctors were to cut off his right hand, Nazaar Joudi wrote a letter to his wife. It was the final act he was to perform with the hand, which was to be methodically removed on Saddam Hussein's orders as punishment for the crime of doing business in American dollars.

"Do not be sad," Joudi wrote to Um Fuqaan that night. "Hopefully Allah will replace my hand with an even better one. . . . God will reward you for standing next to your husband and being my right hand."

Thanks to a Fairfax-based film producer, a half-dozen health care providers and businesses in Houston, and a legendary "white knight in blue spectacles," Joudi's promise to his wife came true last Monday.

Doctors and prosthetists moved by the plight of Joudi and six other Iraqi merchants whose right hands were amputated at Abu Ghraib finished fitting each of the men with $50,000 "bionic" hands. Black tattoos of crosses that had been carved into the men's foreheads to label them criminals were removed by a Houston plastic surgeon a few weeks earlier. All the services and products were donated.

As resentment of Americans in Iraq seems to swell each day, these seven Iraqis are unabashed in their gratitude, not just for their new hands, but for the U.S. role in ending what they call the "reign of horror" that claimed the lives of as many as 2.5
million of their countrymen.

"Tell the American people what all Iraqis want to tell to them," Salah Zinad said. "Tell them: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

The other six Iraqis were equally effusive, their appreciation undimmed by the current prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, outside Baghdad, and other occupation worries back home.

"We have freedom in Iraq. Now we say anything we want," Zinad said. "Under Saddam we whispered."

In recent interviews, the seven Iraqis were unflagging in their confidence about Iraq's future and the U.S. role in it.

Zinad on the prisoner abuse: "Some American soldiers are a problem. Not all Americans. These Americans who did this will be punished. Under Saddam, such abuses were rewarded and praised. Iraqis understand the difference."

Qasim Kadhim on Americans who think the invasion of Iraq was a mistake: "I think those people have made a mistake, because under Allah, all people are brothers. We must help each other if we have a problem. . . . How do we do it if nobody helps us?"

Basim Al Fadhly on why many Iraqis are angry: "They have good reasons to be angry. There have been many mistakes because of cultural differences. Iraq is not a country like America yet. We were 35 years under Saddam. But that does not mean Iraqis don't want democracy. People like freedom, but with freedom you need life."

The seven have become celebrities in Houston as they learn how to use their artificial limbs and soak up a bit of Texas hospitality when not at the hospital. They've watched an Astros game in the owner's box, donned cowboy duds for a barbecue at the historic Y.O. Ranch, even spent a night at the dog track.

This week, they make a pilgrimage to Washington to employ their new limbs shaking the hands of more Americans they want to thank, including soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center who have undergone amputations. They also plan to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

"Saddam is the past," Kadhim said. "Now we must make business contacts in America."

AMPUTATION CITY

Their odyssey began almost exactly a year ago, with an overheard conversation in a Baghdad cafe.

Don North, a former correspondent for both ABC and NBC who is currently a freelance producer, was in Baghdad last June helping set up the U.S.-sponsored Iraq Media Network when he received a videotape from one of the Iraqi journalists working for him. It showed doctors amputating the hands of nine Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib in 1995.

"I'd seen a lot of videotape, but this was truly gruesome and shocking," North said. In Baghdad, the owner of a small video production shop had been asked to make 10 copies of the tape by secret police in 1995. He clandestinely made an extra to keep as evidence of the atrocities. That was the copy that found its way to North.

Al Fadhly said that, after a year in hellish prisons and five months in Abu Ghraib, he was almost relieved when he heard he and the eight other merchants were going to be freed after having their hands amputated.

"We were the lucky ones," Al Fadhly said. "Others stayed in prison much longer. Thirty thousand in Abu Ghraib went to the hangman's noose."

Their trial lasted 30 minutes. Al Fadhly said all nine men believe they were scapegoated by Hussein because his economy was collapsing after the Persian Gulf War, and U.S. currency was anathema to him. Two weeks after the men lost their hands, they said, the law banning trade in foreign currency was thrown out.

Hussein had the nine hands brought to him, to be sure the sentence was carried out, said Farhad Taha, an attending physician at the amputations who was later interviewed by Al Fadhly, who now works for the media network.

Amnesty International estimates that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Iraqis had their hands amputated for similar crimes. "Baghdad is Amputation City," North said. "Within a block you run into two to three people without a leg, or an arm, or an ear." Hussein's secret police, like Hitler's, kept meticulous records of who was killed or maimed, and why. A committee of former prisoners is sorting through 2 million to 4 million files in hopes of accurately quantifying the scope of the depravity.

One of the nine maimed men escaped to Europe after his release, and another has died. Over the next nine years, the seven who remained in Baghdad kept a low profile, living the life of scarred outcasts. They also became their own support system, forever bonded by their time in prison.

"They were their own best friends," North said.

HOUSTON'S "WHITE KNIGHT"

After viewing the tape. North was determined to make a documentary about the men. "It was already a famous story in Baghdad." When he met the seven, North decided he would shed his role of detached observer. "I decided I wasn't going to leave it up to chance that some doctor who saw my documentary would offer to help," he said.

An oil engineer from Houston, Roger Brown, overheard North talking about the men in a Baghdad cafe. He suggested North contact Houston's "white knight in blue spectacles," famed TV newsman Marvin Zindler.

Zindler is the kind of institution only Texas could spawn: a woofer-voiced champion of underdogs and the underprivileged who sports white pants, a silver hairpiece and blue-tinted eyeglasses.

Although Zindler made his name with muckraking, populist journalism-he uncovered the scandal memorialized in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"-these days he uses his airtime on the ABC affiliate's "Eyewitness News" more to comfort the afflicted than to afflict the comfortable. "Why'd we do this?" Zindler replies to a question. "Because the guys had their hands cut off."

Zindler is 82 but looks much younger thanks to 30 reconstructive surgeries. ("I was fired from my first TV job for being too ugly," he explains.) Those surgeries yielded a good friend in Joe Agris, Zindler's plastic surgeon. After talking to North, Zindler called Agris to get the good deeds rolling.

Agris, who has volunteered time in Vietnam and Nicaragua doing reconstructive surgery on children, rounded up the doctors, nurses, hospitals and clinics to give the men new hands. North spent his days off making the logistical arrangements. It took months to line up all the benefactors and cut through the red tape, but by early April the amputees were bound for Houston.

The Methodist Hospital, the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, and Dynamic Orthotics and Prosthetics in Houston donated the operating rooms, rehab and training; Houston-based Continental Airlines paid for the seven Iraqis' flight; the Marriott and Warwick hotel chains housed them; and the Minneapolis branch of a German prosthetics company, Otto Bock, provided the artificial hands.

The Iraqis were met with a surprise in their first days in Texas: the prospect of another round of surgeries to further shorten their arms. Agris and another surgeon he'd enlisted, Fred Kestler, determined that the Abu Ghraib surgeries had left the men with far too much real pain and "phantom pain"-painful sensations where the limb used to be. Operations were needed to repair the nerves and create a new, smooth surface for the artificial hands.

Last week, the men had recovered enough for the final fitting of their bionic hands, microprocessor-assisted marvels that receive instructions from the brain via electrodes attached to muscles in the arm. The Iraqis are training themselves to fire the right muscles to control hand functions, a process that will take months. Already, they can throw balls, shake hands, raise a glass.

Agris and North will go back to Baghdad with the seven in early June to make sure they have the proper medical support. Agris has arranged to visit other amputees, and he will help Baghdad hospitals upgrade their knowledge about amputations and prosthetics.

"The thing that'll win hearts and minds in the humanitarian effort, not guns," Agris said. "You take care of someone's child, not only do you help the child but you win over the family. And the family talks to the neighbors and you win over the neighbors. It just escalates."

He thinks Al Fadhly, Joudi, Kadhim, Salah and the other three men-Laith Aggar, Hassan Al Gereawy and Al'aa Hassan-will change some minds, too.

"I think we're going to see a ripple effect, especially with a guy like Al Fadhly who's got a job working for the coalition's new TV station. They're bringing back a different attitude, a different look."

READY FOR HOMECOMING

No one turned down North, Zindler or Agris when they asked for help. L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of Iraq, wrote an executive memo authorizing the trip. The Homeland Security Department issued seven "medical emergency" visa waivers, and the Air Force transported the group to Germany to catch the Continental flight to Houston.

"This is really who we are as a country," Agris said.

After nearly two months in Houston, the Iraqis admit they are getting homesick. Kadhim has developed what he says is too much of a fondness for Budweiser, Aggar is eager to get back to his jewelry shop, and the seven men have run up a $6,000 phone and laundry bill at the hotels.

North is shopping his documentary about the men to major television networks. He worries, however, that the publicity the Iraqis have received and their new, expensive hands might make them targets back home. "Anybody in Iraq who is a decent, productive member of society has become a target," he said.

But the Iraqis themselves aren't that worried. "Saddam's friends don't have much power any more," Aggar said. "Iraq is many millions of people. They are only hundreds. They are the ones who live in fear now"

"Allah will watch over us," Kadhim added. "Once Saddam has his trial, it will be over. Hopefully, it will be quickly."

When Al Fadhly gets home, the first thing he plans to do with his new hand is wave vigorously to his friends and neighbors. Kadhim plans to embrace his seven boys and daughter all at once. Aggard said he will, for the first time, properly shake the hand of the friend who watched over his house and family while he was in prison.

Last week at Dynamic Orthotics, Joudi didn't answer when asked what he would do first. He was already busy using his prosthetic to try something he hadn't done since the night before he lost his hand. He was writing a letter to his wife.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I was moved last night to be with those supersoldiers and have dinner with them and talk with them and their families. They are so fine and so indicative of the strengths and values of America.

I yield the floor.