I hope that you'll support a House version of Senate Amendment 1977 to the
Defense Appropriations bill.  This amendment would outlaw cruel, inhumane,
and degrading treatment of military prisoners.  Media reports of Abu Ghraib
and other cases make it clear that abuse of prisoners is epidemic in the US
military, spurred by a lack of proper leadership and guidelines.  Every
case of abuse increases resentment and hatred of the United States, and quite
justifiably so.  The United States cannot hope to regain the international
respect that it has lost unless it begins to behave better than its enemies do.