Chris Smith: “I thank the gentleman for his compassion and for bringing these stories forward and for meeting with those families. I…”

“I thank the gentleman for his compassion and for bringing these stories forward and for meeting with those families. I did, too, hear of the false guilt--nevertheless, guilt--shared by some of the families, but what do you do when you are facedown with an AK-47 and you are holding a stick? That is basically what happened. I have been to Abuja a number of times. I am the author, as you know, of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, America's landmark law in combating sex and labor trafficking, enacted in 2000. I have been there a number of times, working with members of parliament--their congressmen and their senators--on trafficking legislation. They have a very, very well-written piece of legislation to combat the scourge of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. There are many fine members of the House and Senate. Part of the problem has been the corruption in some places--in the military, in some cases--in parts of the government, and we have corruption here; so we know how insidious, as you pointed out, that can be, but when the military units that are deployed lack the skill base and the training to deal with a terrorist organization that is highly adept, coupled with the fact they don't have enough munitions, enough capabilities that any military going to war against this kind of threat need to have, it just so hampers their ability to carry on the fight. So that, too, has to change.…”