Outrage erodes morale of troops

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Originally published 12:27 a.m., May 12, 2004, updated 12:00 a.m., May 12, 2004

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The worldwide furor over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers imperils troop morale at a crucial time, say lawmakers from both parties.

But what to do about it divides them, with Democrats blaming the Bush administration for creating a culture where it could happen and the Republicans accusing Democrats of hyping the situation in order to make political hay out of it.

"This happened in Vietnam," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican. "It's happened in other wars, where the troops wondered if people are really behind them."

Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, blamed Democrats who have been harshly critical of the war effort for eroding troop morale.

"I'm concerned that a number of members of Congress have lost their sense of balance," he said. "They think their role here is to bash the American military. It is demoralizing for the troops."

Mr. DeLay also targeted Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry for sending out a mass e-mail to supporters calling for Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's removal and soliciting campaign cash. It's "unconscionable," he said, for Mr. Kerry to use the abuse scandal as a "fund-raising gimmick."

"Frankly, it's disgusting," Mr. DeLay said.

During the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings yesterday into the prison-abuse scandal, Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, read one of the Kerry solicitations into the record and called them unprecedented.

"It goes on to demand that George Bush fire Donald Rumsfeld," he said. "And then it goes on to a timeline, a chronology, and at the very last, it makes a solicitation for contributions. I don't recall this ever having happened before in history."

House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer said he also worries about troop morale, but blames the Bush administration for cultivating an atmosphere in the Abu Ghraib prison that allowed the abuse to occur.

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