May 6, 2004

Goodman Calls on Kirk to Reveal His Role in Prisoner Interrogations

Lee Goodman, Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives from the 10th District in Illinois, has called upon his opponent, Mark Kirk, to reveal what he knew about abuse of prisoners in Iraq. “Kirk has been boasting for years that he is a Navy intelligence officer,” Goodman said. “He claims to be the only Representative to have served in the war in Iraq. He has said he is fulfilling his reserve obligations by serving in intelligence in the Pentagon, and that he has inside information on what is going on in Iraq. He has asked his constituents to support the President’s actions there based on his personal assurances about the reliability of military intelligence. He serves on the appropriations subcommittee that deals with military aid. If anyone in Congress should have known there was a problem, it would be him. The abuses occurred as part of the military’s interrogations, which are run by military intelligence. Allegations of abuses in prisons in occupied Iraq have been around for a long time, and a report was prepared months ago about the problem. Mr. Kirk should explain why he did nothing about this serious problem.”

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