to Senator Cornyn; Sharon L. Waxman and Mieke Y. Eoyang, assistants to Senator Kennedy; Christina Evans and Erik Raven, assistants to Senator Byrd; Frederick M. Downey, assistant to Senator Lieberman; Elizabeth King, assistant to Senator Reed; Davelyn Noelani Kalipi, assistant to Senator Akaka; William K. Sutey and Dan Shapiro, assistants to Senator Bill Nelson; Eric Pierce, assistant to Senator Ben Nelson; William Todd Houchins, assistant to Senator Dayton; Todd Rosenblum and Rashid Hallaway, assistants to Senator Bayh; Andrew Shapiro, assistant to Senator Ciinton; and Terri Glaze, assistant to Senator Pryor.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN WARNER,
CHAIRMAN

Chairman WARNER. The Committee on Armed Services meets today in the first of a series of hearings to receive testimony regarding the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by some-I repeat, some elements and certain personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States in violation of U.S. and international laws.

Testifying before us today is the Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Donald Rumsfeld. He is joined by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers; Acting Secretary of the Army, Les Brownlee; Army Chief of Staff, General Peter Schoomaker; and Central Command (CENTCOM) Deputy Commander, Lieutenant General Lance Smith. We welcome each of you today.

I have had the privilege of being associated with, and, more importantly, learning from, the men and women of the Armed Forces for close to 60 years of my life, and I can say that the facts I now have, from a number of sources, represent to me as serious an issue of military misconduct as I have ever observed. These reports could also seriously affect this country's relationships with other nations, the conduct of the war against terrorism, and place in jeopardy the men and women of the Armed Forces wherever they are serving in the world.

This mistreatment of prisoners represents an appalling and totally unacceptable breach of military regulations and conduct. Most significantly, the replaying of these images day after day throughout the Middle East, and indeed the world, has the potential to undermine the substantial gains towards the goal of peace and freedom in various operation areas of the world, most particularly Iraq, and the substantial sacrifice by our forces, as well as those of our allies, in the war on terror.

Let me be as clear as one Senator can be. This is not the way for anyone who wears the uniform of the United States of America to conduct themselves. This degree of breakdown in military leadership and discipline represents an extremely rare-and I repeat, rare chapter in the otherwise proud history of the Armed Forces of the United States. It defies common sense. It contradicts all the values we Americans learn, beginning in our homes.

Members of the committee, as we conduct this hearing, I urge you that we take every care that our actions, our words, and our individual and collective conduct in this hearing not reflect unfairly on the 99.9 percent of our uniformed personnel who are performing

remarkable tasks and, in some cases, making the ultimate sacrifice of life and limb to win the global war on terrorism.

Each of us on the committee has nothing but the strongest support for our brave men and women in uniform and their families. What we seek for the American people through this and following hearings, is only to strengthen and honor their efforts, not in any way to detract from them and their accomplishments.

I would point out that while some systems have failed, we are here today because of a courageous enlisted man and his lieutenant, whose American values compelled them to step forward and inform their superiors. They did the right thing. As this committee performs its constitutional duties in hearings and oversight, we are working in the same spirit as those two soldiers.

Questions before us today are: Who knew what, and when? What did they do about it? Why were Members of Congress not properly and adequately informed?

In my 25 years on this committee, I have received hundreds of calls, day and night, from all levels, uniformed and civilian, of the Department of Defense (DOD), when they, in their judgment, felt it was necessary. I'd dare say that other members on this committee have experienced the same courtesy. I did not receive such a call in this case, and yet I think the situation was absolutely clear and required it, not only to me, but to my distinguished ranking member and other members of this committee.

Members of the committee, our central task here today is to get all the facts in this difficult situation, no matter where they lead, no matter how embarrassing they may be, so that we can assess our response and, in the end, make sure that such dereliction of duty as in this case never happens again in the proud history of our country.

Senator Levin.

STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARL LEVIN

Senator LEVIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The abuses that were committed against prisoners in U.S. custody at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq dishonored our military and our Nation, and they made the prospects for success in Iraq even more difficult than they already are. Our troops are less secure and our Nation is less secure because these depraved and despicable actions will fuel the hatred and fury of those who oppose us.

General Taguba's investigation, as reported, paints an alarming picture of abuse and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners. It has enraged people here at home and throughout the civilized world. Humiliating and sexually abusing prisoners has nothing to do with the effective internment or interrogation of prisoners. In fact, such actions are counterproductive to those goals.

As we seek to bring stability and democracy to Iraq and to fight terrorism globally, our greatest asset as a Nation is the moral values that we stand for. Those values have been compromised.

To begin the process of restoring them, the people involved, who carried out or who authorized or suggested that we should "loosen prisoners up" or, "make sure they get the treatment" must be held accountable. So must anyone up the chain of command be held accountable who had command responsibility over the interrogation

and security of prisoners, and who knew, or should have known, of these abuses and looked the other way.

General Taguba's finding that, "personnel assigned to the 372nd Military Police (MP) Company were directed to change facility procedures to set the conditions for military intelligence interrogations," is bolstered by pictures that suggest that the sadistic abuse was part of an organized and conscious process of intelligence-gathering. In other words, those abusive actions do not appear to be aberrant conduct by individuals, but part of a conscious method of extracting information. If true, the planners of this process are at least as guilty as those who carried out the abuses.

The President's legal counsel, Alberto Gonzalez, reportedly wrote, in a memorandum, that the decision to avoid invoking the Geneva Conventions "preserves flexibility" in the war on terrorism. Belittling or ignoring the Geneva Conventions invites our enemies to do the same, and increases the danger to our military service men and women. It also sends a disturbing message to the world that America does not feel bound by internationally accepted standards of conduct.

The findings of General Taguba's report, as reported on a public Web site, raise a number of disturbing issues. For example, how far up the chain was there implicit or explicit direction or approval or knowledge of these prisoner abuses? Why was a joint interrogation and detention facility at Abu Ghraib established in a way which led to the subordination of the MP brigade to the military intelligence unit conducting interrogation activities? What was the role played by the military intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and any other intelligence units in requesting or suggesting abusive activities? How is it in our Nation's interest to have civilian contractors, rather than military personnel, performing vital national security functions such as prisoner interrogations in a war zone? When soldiers break the law or fail to follow orders, commanders can hold them accountable for their misconduct. Military commanders don't have the same authority over civilian contrac

tors.

Finally, Secretary Rumsfeld and General Myers, I join our chairman in expressing deep dismay that when you briefed Senators in a classified session last week on events in Iraq, just hours before the story broke on television, you made no reference to the impending revelations. Executive branch consultation with Congress is not supposed to be an option, but a longstanding and fundamental responsibility.

It is essential that our Nation, at the highest levels, apologize directly to the victims and to the Iraqi people, as a whole, for these actions. But words alone are not sufficient. Prompt and decisive action, which establishes responsibility and holds people accountable, is essential here. It will also, hopefully, convince the world that our free and open society does not condone, and will not tolerate, this depraved behavior.

Chairman WARNER. I'll ask our witnesses to rise. [Witnesses sworn.]

The complete statements of all witnesses will be placed into the record. The committee will now receive the opening remarks of the Secretary, followed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. I'm not

certain if others desire some recognition for opening remarks; if so, indicate to the chair. Then we'll go into a 6-minute round of questions by each member.

Mr. Secretary.

STATEMENT OF HON. DONALD H. RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Secretary RUMSFELD. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, in recent days there has been a good deal of discussion about who bears responsibility for the terrible activities that took place at Abu Ghraib. These events occurred on my watch. As Secretary of Defense, I am accountable for them, and I take full responsibility. It's my obligation to evaluate what happened, to make sure that those who have committed wrongdoing are brought to justice, and to make changes, as needed, to see that it doesn't happen again.

I feel terrible about what happened to these Iraqi detainees. They're human beings, and they were in U.S. custody. Our country had an obligation to treat them right. We did not, and that was wrong. So to those Iraqis who were mistreated by members of the U.S. Armed Forces, I offer my deepest apology. It was inconsistent with the values of our Nation. It was inconsistent with the teachings of the military to the men and women of the Armed Forces. It was certainly fundamentally un-American.

Further, I deeply regret the damage that has been done. First, to the reputation of the honorable men and women of the Armed Forces, who are courageously, responsibly, and professionally defending our freedoms across the globe. They are truly wonderful human beings, and their families and their loved ones can be enormously proud of them. Second, to the President, Congress, and the American people; I wish I had been able to convey to them the gravity of this before we saw it in the media. Finally, to the reputation of our country.

The photographic depictions of the U.S. military personnel that the public has seen have offended and outraged everyone in the DOD. If you could have seen the anguished expressions on the faces of those in our Department upon seeing those photos, you would know how we feel today.

It's important for the American people and the world to know that while these terrible acts were perpetrated by a small number of U.S. military personnel, they were also brought to light by the honorable and responsible actions of other military personnel.

There are many who did their duty professionally, and we should mention that, as well. First, Specialist Joseph Darby, who alerted the appropriate authorities that abuses were occurring. Second, those in the military chain of command who acted promptly, on learning of those abuses, by initiating a series of investigations— criminal and administrative to assure that abuses were stopped and that the responsible chain of command was relieved and replaced.

Having said that, all the facts that may be of interest are not yet in hand. In addition to the Taguba Report, there are other investigations underway, and we'll be discussing those today. Because all the facts are not in hand, there will be corrections and clarifica

From the witnesses, you will be told the sequence of events and investigations that have taken place since the activities first came to light. I want to inform you of the measures underway to improve our performance in the future.

Before I do that, let me say that each of us at this table is either in the chain of command or has senior responsibilities in the DOD. This means that anything we say publicly could have an impact on the legal proceedings against those accused of wrongdoing in this matter. So please understand that if some of our responses to questions are measured, it is to assure that pending cases are not jeopardized by seeming to exert command influence, and that the rights of any accused are protected.

Now, let me tell you the measures we're taking to deal with this issue. First, to ensure we have a handle on the scope of this catastrophe, I will be announcing today the appointment of several senior former officials who are being asked to examine the pace, the breadth, the thoroughness of the existing investigations, and to determine whether additional investigations or studies need to be initiated. They're being asked to report their findings within 45 days of taking up their duties. I'm confident that these distinguished individuals will provide a full and fair assessment of what has been done thus far, and recommend whether further steps may be necessary.

[Clarifying information provided by the DOD follows:]

Charter for Independent Panel to Review DOD Detention Operations was signed on May 12, 2004. It allots a timeframe to provide advice “preferably within 45 days" after beginning the review. The panel has announced that it will present its final report on August 18, 2004, with the caveat that it could be modified at a later date to reflect the results of reports or investigations completed after that date.

Secretary RUMSFELD. Second, we need to review our habits and our procedures. One of the things we've tried to do in the DOD since September 11 is to try to get the Department to adjust our procedures and processes to reflect that we're in a time of war and that we're in the information age. For the past 3 years, we've looked for areas where adjustments were needed, and we've made a great many adjustments. Regrettably, we've now found another area where adjustments may be needed.

Let me be clear. I failed to recognize how important it was to elevate a matter of such gravity to the highest levels, including the President and the Members of Congress.

Third, I'm seeking a way to provide appropriate compensation to those detainees who suffered such grievous and brutal abuse and cruelty at the hands of a few members of the United States Armed Forces. It's the right thing to do.

I wish we had known more, sooner, and been able to tell you more, sooner. But we didn't. Today, we'll have a full discussion of these terrible acts, but first let's take a step back for a moment. Within the constraints imposed on those of us in the chain of command, I have a few additional words.

First, beyond abuse of prisoners, there are other photos that depict incidents of physical violence towards prisoners, acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel, and inhuman. Second, there are many more photographs and, indeed, some videos. Congress and the American people and the rest of the world need to