Geodog

A Republican senator who gets it

From a profile of Senator Warner (R-Va) in today's Washington Post:

Warner says his committee has a "solemn responsibility" to discover what went wrong and to "make sure it never, never happens again." But some conservatives are angry about the high-profile televised hearings, saying the prisoner-abuse issue is overblown and threatens to undermine the United States' primary mission in Iraq. ... "I think he should stop the hearings at this point; we've heard enough," said Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), a committee member. "We have a war to win, and we need to keep our talents concentrated on winning the war as opposed to prisoner treatment." ...

But Warner shows no signs of backing off, arguing that the country wants and deserves a vigorous examination of the sexual humiliation, physical abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison. He has held three televised hearings this month to question top Pentagon officials and military commanders -- two more televised sessions than the House has allowed -- and he is planning more.

Friends say Warner -- a sailor in World War II, a Marine during the Korean War and secretary of the Navy before he came to the Senate in 1979 -- is motivated by a strong belief that the reputations of both the military and the Senate are at stake unless they get to the bottom of the scandal. "To do otherwise would be contradictory to everything he has experienced in his professional life," said committee member John McCain (R-Ariz.). Besides, McCain added, "it would be incredibly stupid politically." ...

Warner's pursuit of the issue has the backing of most Armed Services members as well as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.), though he has infuriated some conservatives. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), another committee member, has expressed concern that the hearing may be "a real distraction from trying to win the war, especially at this most fragile time." House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) also suggested a lower profile for the prisoner-abuse issue, saying, "We should not allow it to distract us from the war at hand."...

"Senator Warner is a military guy through and through. He volunteered twice, served in the armed forces twice -- that's twice more than a lot of members," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.)...

Some see Warner's intervention against North and his outrage over the prisoner abuse as dual reflections of his devotion to the military.

Warner puts it in more personal terms. He went through both undergraduate and law school under the G.I. Bill of Rights and feels he owes the military for everything he has become. "I have a tremendous obligation to the military," he said.

It continues to amaze me that anyone can see the pictures of prisoners being tortured by American soldiers or watch videos like this one of naked Iraqi prisoners being abused (most of whom we have learned we not guilty of anything other than having the misfortune of being at the wrong time and the wrong place) and not get it.

It has literally rendered me speechless on this weblog. Thankfully, lots of people do get it.