June 16, 2005
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
H-2-4, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Ms. Pelosi,
We read with great disappointment comments made on Tuesday by a member of the Democratic leadership, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. While speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Durbin chose to question the reputation of the thousands of brave men and women who are serving in our armed forces. Speaking on the detainee camp at the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Sen. Durbin said of the United States military, “You would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime – Pol Pot or others – that had no concern for human beings.”
As you know, thousands of young Americans answered the call to serve following the horrible terrorist attacks of September 11th. At that time, we came together as a Congress like never before – as Democrats and Republicans united against those who would do America harm. Our troops stood with our nation, and they are now serving bravely in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the world to keep all American families safe from terrorism. Now more than ever, our troops need our support, not comparisons to some of the worst human rights violators in history. These sorts of inappropriate comments do nothing to boost the morale of those who are serving far from their loved ones.
Does the speech made by Senator Durbin also reflect your views as the House Democratic Leader? If not, we respectfully request that you publicly renounce Senator Durbin’s comments. These sorts of irresponsible comments send the wrong message to our soldiers. Our troops have every right to know that the leadership of the United States Congress stands firmly behind them. We look forward to your timely reply.
Sincerely,
J. Dennis Hastert Tom DeLay Roy Blunt
Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip
Eric Cantor Deborah Pryce
Chief Deputy Majority Whip Chair, House Republican Conference