Doug Bereuter: “this Member is absolutely not satisfied with the language of H. Res. 627, as I believe it does not adequately convey how…”

“this Member is absolutely not satisfied with the language of H. Res. 627, as I believe it does not adequately convey how intensely this House and the American people feel about the exceptionally repugnant, insensitive, and damaging the alleged, but obviously documented, actions of the abusers of the Iraqi detainees are to all of us. From Abu Ghraib prison, and perhaps from elsewhere, we have reports, with photographs, graphically telling and showing the outrageous abuses of Iraqi detainees by U.S. military personnel and possibly by military contractors. The international damage to the credibility and reputation of our country and our military absolutely cannot be overstated, especially in the Arab and Islamic communities. The alleged actions by at least a few members of our military, already confirmed by very recent disciplinarian action, makes the job being done by our dedicated and courageous military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan just that much harder and much more dangerous. The extraordinary gravity of this matter, the insensitivity and the degrading abuse, which has apparently been visited upon Iraqi detainees, call for swift and just accountability. What has allegedly happened is so foreign to our country's principles and traditions and those of our Armed Forces that these people conducting or condoning such abuse do not deserve to be called Americans.”