Hollow Rhetoric Not Sufficent To Correct Iraqi Prison Scandal

Hollow Rhetoric Not Sufficent To Correct Iraqi Prison Scandal

When Will Administration Accept Responsibility for Its Mistakes?

WASHINGTON, DC - Democratic Floor Whip Diana DeGette (D-CO) sharply criticized the Administration and military's response to reports of American abuse of Iraqi prisoners:

"It is not enough to be appalled by the American contractors' and soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Day by day all the good we may have done by overthrowing Saddam Hussein is being undermined by our directionless occupation.

Instead of winning the hearts and minds of Iraqis, these actions are alienating many and even sending some into the arms of extremists.

We need a full accounting of whom in the military and the Administration knew of this abuse and when they knew it. We also must ensure that everyone involved is prosecuted to the fullest extent of military law. This absolutely cannot be a case where enlisted personnel are sent to jail but senior officers receive reprimands or other slaps on the wrist.

I am extremely concerned that to this point senior Administration and military officials have appeared willfully ignorant of the abuse in Iraqi prisons. There is no excuse for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to claim that he did not have the time to read a 54-page investigation report. There is no excuse for General Richard Meyers, Chairman of the Joint of Staff, not to read the report even after he asked 60 Minutes II to delay reporting on these incidents.

This must be a wake up call for an Administration that refuses to accept any responsibility for a disastrous occupation in Iraq. If that means the resignation of senior Administration and military officials for us to begin to correct the laundry list of problems, it is only appropriate."