国会纪录：2005年6月13日（参议院）Page S6390-S6391 Guantanamo海湾雷利先生。主席先生，由于政府在古巴瓜丹莫湾的美国海军基地举行被拘留者，这已经超过3年了。第一批只有20名被拘留者于2002年1月抵达。瓜丹莫现在有500多名被拘留者。我不能给你一个确切的数字，因为我们自己的政府拒绝告诉美国人确切的数字。事实上，我们不知道我们的政府在瓜丹莫的活动。从一开始，政府当局对这个秘密拘留设施的每个问题都是：信任我们。相信我们，我们了解法律，我们将遵守它。相信我们对待被拘留者，并按照我们的法律和条约以及美国的伟大而美妙的传统。相信我们将使美国人更安全。超过3年后，我们肯定有关瓜丹马的一件事是我们可能所拥有的任何信任都被放错了。 First, the administration either did not know or did not follow the law. The list of reversals of this administration's policies and practices at Guantanamo is long. From the Supreme Court's rejection of the claim that Guantanamo Bay is a land of legal limbo or, as one administration official said, ``the legal equivalent of outer space,'' to a recent district court holding that the current military commission regulations are unlawful, there is much that needs attention and correction. Secondly, the administration has not lived up to its promise to treat detainees humanely. Even with the administration's continuing stonewalling against any independent investigation into the mistreatment of detainees, we continue to learn of more abuses on an almost daily basis. Does anybody question that if American POWs were being treated in this way, we would have demonstrations in the streets of America, and everybody from the President down through every single Member of Congress would be up in arms and calling for changes? But when these actions take place at Guantanamo, the administration refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing. The dangerous implications that this posture has for our own troops and citizens becomes more obvious every day. Third, and this is the bottom line: Guantanamo has not made our country safer. It is increasingly clear that the administration's policies have seriously damaged our reputation in the world, and they are making us less safe. The stain of Guantanamo has become the primary recruiting tool for our enemies. President Bush often speaks of spreading Democratic values across the Middle East, but Guantanamo is not a reflection of the values that he has encourages other nations to adopt. The United States has often criticized other nations for operating secret prisons where detainees are hidden away and denied any meaningful opportunity to contest their detention. Now we have our own such prisons. Even if the administration fails to see the hypocrisy of this situation, I can assure you, the rest of the world does not. Guantanamo Bay, in addition to Abu Ghraib, is a national disgrace and international embarrassment to us, to our country's ideals, and a festering threat to our security. It is a legal black hole that dishonors the principles of a great nation. America was once very rightly viewed as a leader in human rights and the rule of law, but Guantanamo has drained our leadership, our credibility, and the world's good will for America at alarming rates. Even our closest allies cannot condone the policies embraced by this Government, not to mention the significant damage that has been caused by allegations and proven incidents of detainee abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo. These are not the policies of a great and good nation such as ours. This is not the American system of justice that I have grown up honoring and appreciating. Within the last 2 weeks, I was at a meeting of NATO parliamentarians. These are parliamentarians from the countries that are our closest allies. They are members of the NATO alliance with the United States and proud to be part of that alliance. Every one of them I spoke with said the same thing: How can America continue to be a beacon for democracy with the stain of Guantanamo? Some of these countries were countries that originally had been behind the Iron Curtain. With the efforts of this administration and the Clinton administration, we see them now as proud members of NATO. They look to the United States for leadership, and they ask us: Why Guantanamo? The 9/11 Commission understood that military strength alone is not sufficient to defend our Nation against terrorism. There has to be a role for working cooperatively with the rest of the world. In its report, the Commission said that the Government ``must define what the message is, what it stands for. We should offer an example of moral leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be generous and caring to our neighbors.'' Guantanamo Bay is not the way to do this. The administration got itself into this mess because it refused to accept Congress as a partner in its so-called war on terror and insisted on acting unilaterally. It would not even involve Congress, even though Congress is controlled by members of the President's party. Following the start of combat in Afghanistan in October 2001, I urged President Bush to work with Congress to fashion appropriate rules and procedures for detaining and punishing suspected terrorists. All of us agree, if you have terrorists, if it is proven they are terrorists, they should be detained and punished. As I noted at the time, our Government is at its strongest when the executive and legislative branches of Government act in concert. Unfortunately, the President was determined to go it alone. Up until now, this Republican-led Congress has been content to go along for the ride. As the administration dug itself deeper and deeper into a hole, we stood idly by. Instead of providing checks and balances, we simply wrote one blank check after another. This has to change. The Constitution provides that Congress, not the President, has the power to ``make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.'' Congress, not the President, has the power to ``define and punish Offenses against the Law of Nations.'' And perhaps most importantly, Congress, not the President, has the power of the purse. Maybe each one of us should take a few moments and reread the Constitution that we are sworn to uphold. What is the administration's plan for Guantanamo Bay, assuming there is one? What does the administration intend to do with the more than 500 detainees still imprisoned there? How many will be released and when? How many will be charged and tried and when? The administration consistently insists that these detainees pose a threat to the safety of Americans. The Vice President said that the other day. If that is true, then one would have to assume we have credible evidence to support it. If there is such evidence, then let's prosecute these people. If we have the evidence, prosecute them. But we also know that some of the detainees have been wrongly detained. I suspect there are others who have not yet been released against whom the evidence is weak at best. It is one thing if they are being detained in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. But if not, they do not belong there. Guantanamo Bay is causing immeasurable damage to our reputation as a defender of democracy and beacon of human rights around the world. It is [[Page S6391]] becoming a legal black hole, a rallying cry for our enemies, fueling hostilities against us and our policies. We have always been able to say that those who strike out against us do not uphold the rule of law as we do. We have always been able to point out that the kind of actions they carry out are horrible, horrific. And every one of us, Democrat and Republican, have found them abhorrent and have said so. Yet the administration has not articulated a coherent plan to repair the damage. Every one of us knows from what we hear around the world that we have been damaged by Guantanamo. Why carry out acts that do not follow our own laws, our own Constitution, our own tradition? We need a plan from the administration to repair this damage. The Congress has abdicated its oversight responsibility for far too long. The Administration has placed this nation in an untenable situation, and it is time for Congress to demand a way out. Mr. President, as I said, this doesn't reflect the feeling of just the Democratic Senator from Vermont. Similar expressions have been made by Republicans and Democrats, leading people in this country, people I respect greatly, who point out what we all know--and maybe we don't like to talk about it--Guantanamo is a blot on the conscience of America--a good and great conscience, one that has been a shining beacon to so many countries. Let's not allow this blot. Let's take the steps necessary to erase it. ____________________