"Mr. Chairman, the vast, overwhelming majority of American troops perform their duties with fairness, compassion and courage - to them, the actions of these few are demoralizing and make the difficult task they have been assigned immeasurably more difficult. "Those - here and abroad - who thrive on taking pot shots at America now have a fresh supply of ammunition. The global anti-American propaganda machine now has Exhibit A to bolster its allegations against us. "Worst of all, a nation that, to a degree unprecedented in human history, has sacrificed its blood and treasure to secure liberty and human rights around the world now must try to convince the world that the detestable images on their TV screens and front pages are not the real America, that what they see is not who we are. "This is infuriating, and tragically ironic, in light of all the good our armed forces have done in Iraq, and are doing today. Our military, along with our Coalition partners, freed 28 million people from one of the most brutal and repressive regimes in modern times, a regime that held power by torture, rape, mass executions and false imprisonment, even the false imprisonment of children. They are building schools, hospitals, power systems and water supplies. They are creating hope in a people who have known nothing but despair. Yet, in the eyes of many, all that good is cancelled out by the cruel actions of a few. "Against that backdrop, the issue of this committee not being informed by the Pentagon of these abuse allegations and of the subsequent investigations may seem to some as a small matter. I assure all here today that it is not. "There is only one remedy for this self-inflicted wound - complete openness. The full extent of this abuse must be revealed. The soldiers and officers who committed, encouraged or condoned these acts must answer for them, no matter how high up the chain of command chain this goes. The training of troops charged with the care of prisoners must be examined and reformed. The thought process that led Pentagon officials to withhold information vital to this nation's armed services from this committee also must be examined and it will be reformed. Openness is the answer, Mr. Chairman, and it begins here. It begins today."
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