This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a two-part hearing on Iraq. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and Lieutenant General Walter Sharp testified before the committee on May 18. The next day, the committee heard testimony from Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, former Commander in Chief Joseph Hoar, Phoebe Marr of the National Defense University, and Larry Diamond of the Hoover Institution.
In his opening remarks, Chair Richard Lugar (R-IN) stated, “With lives being lost and billions of dollars being spent in Iraq, the American people must be confident that we have carefully thought through an Iraq policy. A detailed plan is necessary to prove to our allies and to Iraqis that we have a strategy and that we are committed to making it work. If we cannot provide this clarity, we risk the loss of support of the American people, the loss of potential contributions from our allies, and the disillusionment of Iraqis.
Ranking Member Joseph Biden (D-DE) agreed. “I believe we can still succeed in Iraq. But we need a strategy for success. And we need leadership from the President to implement that strategy. The situation has deteriorated to a point that it’s not enough to send the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense. The President must do it himself.”
Secretary Wolfowitz outlined the transition to Iraqi sovereignty, explaining that the interim government will assume full sovereignty on June 30 and elections will be held for the Transitional National Assembly (TNA) in December 2004 or January 2005. At that time, the TNA, the Presidency Council, and the Council of Ministers will comprise the Iraqi Transitional Government. Other witnesses discussed the timeline and what actions must be taken to achieve a peaceful transition in Iraq.
During the question and answer session, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) asked about allegations of rough treatment and sexual humiliation of Iraqi women at the Abu Ghraib prison. She first approached the topic at the committee’s hearing on HIV/AIDS and hunger last week (see The Source, 5/14/04). She referred to one photo of a woman “with dead eyes” exposing herself to American soldiers, and asked the Pentagon representatives what they knew about it. They explained that they had not seen all of the photos viewed by Members of Congress and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, but “know enough to be horrified” about the abuse. They also said that the abuse of female prisoners “is contrary to everything we’re trying to accomplish in Iraq.” Sen. Boxer requested the Department of Defense to provide her with information on the number of women raped at the Iraqi prison and how restitution would be provided by the United States.
Sen. Boxer also referred to reports of sexual assault against women in the military, noting that there are 129 open cases in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. She pointed out that current law allows women to obtain abortions at U.S. military facilities, but they must pay for the procedure with their own money. She asked whether the Department of Defense would endorse her legislation (S. 2166) allowing the use of funds for an abortion if the pregnancy was a result of incest or rape. They said they would consider supporting the bill.
