National Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2005

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
SENATE
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am voting today in opposition to Senator DODD's amendment, No. 3313 that would prohibit the Department of Defense from using contractors to carry out certain activities, mostly related to interrogations. While I believe that this amendment would not solve the problems so vividly illustrated by the Abu Ghraib prison abuses, there should be no doubt that the issue it seeks to address is extremely serious. We are all concerned about the grave misconduct of anyone involved in interrogations of Iraqi detainees. The individuals who committed atrocities have marred the reputation of our country and have made the lives of American personnel in Iraq more dangerous and difficult.

It is essential to ensure that there is proper oversight when employing contractors in interrogations or any other military-related function. There must also be clear rules for bringing to justice those who violate our laws or treaty obligations. And, ultimately, I believe that interrogations and other functions should be conducted by uniformed personnel, working directly for the United States government and subject to the web of rules that governs military personnel.

While this should be our ultimate goal, I am concerned that this amendment would bring to a halt a number of critical functions currently carried out by contractors. The reality is that the U.S. armed forces are currently dependent on contractor support to carry out their missions, including interrogations. The Army now has approximately 500 military interrogators, a number far below the number needed to meet our requirements in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. Over the next five years, the number of trained interrogators will grow to over 1,200, but in the meantime, we rely on contractors to make up the difference. In addition, over 50 percent of interrogator, interpreter, and analyst positions at Guantanamo Bay are currently filled by contractors. This amendment would cripple intelligence gathering operations there.

The abuses at Abu Ghraib prison did not occur only at the hands of civilian contractors-soldiers have been implicated as well. It is critical to ensure accountability for everyone who may have been involved, and prevent any reoccurrence of such abuses. Throughout the hearings in the Senate Armed Services Committee and in my review of the annexes and documents in the Taguba Investigation, I have observed a lack of sustained focus on the basic principles of leadership at Abu Ghraib. While I believe that immediately prohibiting the use of contractors is not the way to proceed, we need to look comprehensively at a number of facets of our military operations, including the long-term use of contractors, failures of leadership, and the overall size of our armed forces.