Lynn C. Woolsey: “for months and months we have been hearing from the Bush administration that the training of Iraqi security forces is…”

“for months and months we have been hearing from the Bush administration that the training of Iraqi security forces is going as planned. America will stand down just as soon as Iraq stands up, they said. A milestone which we were assured was just around the corner. Well, now we know the truth. Not only can they not stand up; they can barely crawl. And when they do crawl, all too often they are fighting each other or U.S. troops. The Los Angeles Times published a shocking report over the weekend about the violence and corruption that is permeating the Iraqi police. According to the Times, we are talking about ``the rape of female prisoners, the release of terrorism suspects in exchange for bribes, assassinations of police officers, and participation in insurgent bombings . . . ``Officers have beaten prisoners to death. They have been involved in kidnapping rings, sold thousands of stolen and forged Iraqi passports, and passed along vital information to insurgents . . . '' In one Baghdad neighborhood known as a militia stronghold, police tortured detainees with electricity and beatings. I hasten to add, Mr. Speaker, that the United States and its military have no moral authority to combat such gruesome tactics. Why? Because the right to torture prisoners of war, indeed, the exhortation to torture them, was the official policy of our government for several years.…”