Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to take this opportunity to express my thoughts regarding the deplorable acts committed by soldiers at the Abu Ghraib Prison. The graphic and disturbing acts that are depicted in these pictures are inexcusable. These actions have tarnished the heroic and patriotic acts performed by so many of our military members during this difficult war.

I recently traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan. I was so impressed with the professionalism exhibited by the men and women serving in our military who I had the opportunity to meet. Unfortunately, the rest of the world and the nation will not see or hear about these outstanding individuals. Instead these pictures published on the front pages of newspapers around the world depict our military members as thugs.

This outcry has been exacerbated by the manner in which this situation has been handled. Members of Congress, even the President, according to media reports, learned about this situation from Dan Rather when 60 Minutes II broadcast this story. I find this cloud of secrecy that continues to permeate the Department of Defense disturbing and destructive. I find this cavalier attitude towards accountability and transparency to be a dereliction of duty and an abrogation of military and civilian control over the "post-war" situation.

I find it amazing that Secretary Rumsfeld stated as late as Monday, May 3, 2004, that he had not yet read the AR 15-6 report written by Major General Antonio Taguba which was submitted in March 2004. I find it unconscionable that soldiers being deployed to a war zone would not be provided with proper training pertaining to the treatment of detainees under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Geneva Convention.

I am troubled by the apparent lack of accountability by Department of Defense leadership. In my opinion, for these soldiers to be so cavalier and nonchalant as depicted in these photos, which had to have been taken by other detention facility personnel, tells me that such behavior was widespread and condoned in this prison.

I remain concerned with the lack of supervision and discipline in this brigade and even more concerned with the unsupervised and unlimited access private contractors had inside this facility. And I remain disturbed by the dismissive attitude exhibited by the civilian leadership in the Pentagon towards this situation which has undermined our military and damaged our country's reputation.