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“MISTAKES OF THE PRESIDENT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2523-H2524 on May 4, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MISTAKES OF THE PRESIDENT
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee ) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me first thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) for organizing tonight's series of statements about the consequences of the Bush administration's tragic and terrible decisions.
Now, last month, the President stated that he could not really think of a single particular mistake that he had made in office, though he conceded that he must have made some. Even worse, the President was either unable or unwilling to say what lessons he had learned from the process.
Now, tonight some of us are here to talk about the administration's decisions because, quite frankly, ``mistake'' is far too soft a word. It almost makes it sound like an accident. We are also here to talk about the consequences and the lessons that the entire world is learning from this administration.
Now, in the newspapers and on television in the past week we have all seen the horrifying pictures of American soldiers torturing, tormenting and humiliating Iraqi prisoners. We all know that this does not characterize the tens of thousands of brave men and women serving in Iraq, but we do note that it endangers their lives.
These pictures are horrifying, both because of the callous disregard for human rights that they show by individual American soldiers but also for the far more fundamental failures at the highest levels of leadership, failures that began with an administration that led the Nation to war under false pretenses.
The pictures are also horrifying for their consequences. What will happen to the next American soldiers or civilian captured? If we, the world's most powerful military country and greatest democracy, will not abide by the Geneva Convention and international law, then who will?
What will happen to our already devastated international reputation?
The Washington Post today reports that the State Department's Intelligence and Research Department is deeply concerned about a cascade of international criticism that could seriously affect our broader foreign goals.
Leaked portions of a 53-page report by Major General Antonio Taguba completed in February conclude that there were numerous, numerous instances of ``sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses at Abu Ghraib'' prison.
I hope that this is not just the tip of the iceberg.
Individuals involved have stated that they were encouraged by military intelligence to engage in this abuse. Now, as one who has a background in psychology and mental health, I worry for our young men and women in uniform who are being dehumanized, dehumanized by a war that allows them to cross this threshold.
Now, many of the men and women and teenagers held in this prison, actually, the infamous prison which was known as a torture center for Saddam Hussein, they were picked up in random sweeps and at highway checkpoints.
People were held for months on little or no evidence, with no charges, no change at appeal, and now, it seems, in addition to that potentially widespread injustice, they may have been abused or even tortured.
The Department of Defense is investigating these charges, but he oversight quite frankly must be broader and the questions that are asked must be more sweeping. Congress absolutely has to exercise its oversight authority though a full scale investigation, a Congressional investigation.
Part of this examination also has to look at private contractors, some of whom will are running these prisons and some of whom are allegedly involved in these terrible acts. Human Rights Watch and other organizations have widely asked about the role of private contractors who seem to be operating entirely outside the boundaries of authority in a complete legal vacuum. They are exempt from prosecution by Iraqi courts. They are beyond the military chain of command and its court-
martial authority, and they are outside the range of the United States courts.
This is one more consequence of turning over so much power and so much money to private contractors. This is one more example of a foreign policy and a military policy gone wrong. The United States has turned this prison especially, Abu Ghraib into a house of horrors. That failure is a metaphor for a foreign policy that has gone absolutely and tragically wrong. Our Nation is perceived in many circles as waging war on Islam. The pictures in the world's newspapers will only compound and confirm that perception. Those photographs build on an image of a Nation that ignores the United Nations, when it chooses to, of course, and turns to it when it gets in trouble.
They add to a portrait of a country that preaches about human rights but fails to uphold them. The pictures are just one more piece of evidence that this administration led our Nation to war without really a plan for its aftermath. And that utter failure, as I said,
``mistake'' is far too soft a word.
This policy has contributed to more than 500 American deaths since, mind you, since President Bush landed on that aircraft carrier and stood underneath that banner proclaiming ``Mission accomplished.''
Exactly what mission have we accomplished? We have not found any weapons of mass destruction, but we have seriously damaged our international credibility. We have not established any semblance of stability or safety in Iraq, although the deadline for the supposed Iraqi takeover of authority is just a month away.
We have not promoted the cause of democracy in the Middle East or anywhere else, but we have undermined the rule of international law.
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We have not built a strong network of friends and allies to advance our joint goals, but we have squandered the enormous goodwill that the world stretched out to us in 2001. Ultimately, we have not made the world or ourselves safer. The policies of the Bush administration have made the world a far more dangerous place.
Tomorrow, the State Department issues its annual report on U.S. efforts to support human rights and democracy across the globe. Just what is this report going to say about the Bush administration's failures in Iraq and its efforts to overthrow democracy in Haiti? Just what is this report going to say about the abuse of individuals and organizations?
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