Kerry Press Release: Statement from John Kerry on Prisoner Abuse Reports

[Skinner]

For Immediate Release
August 25, 2004

Statement from John Kerry on Prisoner Abuse Reports

Philadelphia, PA – Senator John Kerry issued the following statement today regarding the recent reports on Iraqi prisoner abuse:

“Yesterday, the Schlesinger panel released their report which found that much of the responsibility for setting the conditions for the abuse at Abu Ghraib can be attributed to failures at highest levels of our government. Today the Fay report will be released and will recommend punitive action for those in our military who were directly involved.

“But what is missing from all these reports is accountability from the senior civilian leaders in the Pentagon and in the White House. From the bottom of the chain of command all the way to the top, there needs to be accountability. The Schlesinger report makes clear that Secretary Rumsfeld was responsible for setting a climate where these types of abuses could occur.

“By failing to plan to win the peace, by failing to make sure our troops received the proper training, equipment, reinforcement and command guidance, and by failing to take corrective actions once all of this became apparent, Secretary Rumsfeld did not demonstrate the leadership required from a Secretary of Defense.

“That is why today I am calling on Secretary Rumsfeld to resign effective immediately. In addition, I call on the President to appoint an independent investigation to review the entire decision making process that led to these abuses and provide a comprehensive set of reforms so that we can ensure that this never happens again.

“As Harry Truman, the buck stops here. The time has come for our Commander in Chief to take charge.”

-30-

www.johnkerry.com
Paid for by Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc.

[gratuitous]

1. Bwahahaha! Great last sentence!

"The time has come for our Commander in Chief to take charge."

What a bunch of comedians they are at Kerry-Edwards, nu?

[2Design]

2. excellent ...eom

[Kierkegaard]

3. Yeah!!!

As Kurt Russell (as Wyatt Earp) once said "You called down the thunder, well now YOU'VE GOT IT!"

[spanone]

4. The 2nd report came out today. Pure Whitewash.

They said on CNN that the worse abuse they saw was guards with dogs making teenage boys wet themselves. Whitewash.

[cynatnite]

5. More photos and video?

I heard a while back there was a lot more pics and video which would make the current ones look very tame in comparison.

It's like they've been buried and forgotten. I'm starting to think these reports are just a whitewash.

I hope Kerry will make sure a commission is formed to thoroughly investigate this because there's no way that's all there is.

Rumsfeld's probably stashed 'em under his bed or something.

Cyn:)

[bigtree]

6. .

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. Buck Bush Now!

Truman said "The buck stops here."

Don't pass the buck, pass on Bush.

Buck Bush Now!

[iwantmycountryback]

8. Great job

Nobody in the Bush WH takes accountability. They must have something on their desk that says "The buck may stop somewhere, but not here.