Cornyn Statement Following Pentagon Meeting with Rumsfeld

CORNYN STATEMENT FOLLOWING PENTAGON MEETING WITH RUMSFELD

'We must investigate the prison abuses, but it's even more important to prosecute war on terror'

WASHINGTON-U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the following statement Tuesday regarding a meeting at the Pentagon with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and other military officials:

"We are at war. And while all of us believe that it's important to get to the bottom of these prison abuses, I think it's even more important that at the same time, we prosecute this war successfully. I am worried that the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, combatant commanders, and all up and down the chain of command in Iraq are increasingly occupied with this investigation.

"We are approaching the most dangerous part of this war leading up to the transition to Iraqi government, then to elections. And this is a time when foreign terrorists, other insurgents, and former Saddam loyalists are trying to do everything they can do defeat us, or at least break our will if they can't beat us militarily. So, I think it's more important now than ever before that everyone up and down the chain of command be focused on the goal of winning the war and getting our young men and women back home safely as soon as possible.

"My meeting at the Pentagon affirmed that these prison abuses appear to be limited to a handful of soldiers who acted improperly in violation of Army rules and doctrine. And my impression is that the Army has acted very quickly, beginning last January to when these first allegations came to light, to investigate it thoroughly and fearlessly and take it wherever the truth may lead."