Rep. Conaway will introduce the Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act in the National Defense Authorization Act Markup today

Today the House Armed Services Committee will mark-up the National Defense Authorization Act which provides funding for our men and women in uniform for the fiscal year. During the mark-up Congressman
Mike Conaway (R-TX) will introduce H.R.2712 the Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009 which will forbid the release of photos of detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. The language of this bill is a mirror image of the legislation introduced by Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) which passed unanimously in the Senate. Rep. Conaway made the following statement regarding the legislation:
There are many layers to this issue and Congress has a clear choice; we can allow the voices of moderation in the Arab streets to remain empowered or we can further incite extremism with the release of these photographs. In places like Iran Iraq Pakistan and Afghanistan the forces of intolerance and extremism are desperately awaiting the release of these photos in order to expand their recruitment efforts and claim vindication for their morally bankrupt ideologies of hate.

By introducing a bill with the same language that the Senate unanimously approved it is my hope that my colleagues in the House will understand the importance of protecting these photos and include this amendment in the
NDAA. Some of my colleagues on the far left namely Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer oppose language that would forbid the release of the detainee photos. Such opposition is both irresponsible and ludicrous and puts our troops at extreme risk. These pictures are inflammatory to certain elements of the radical Muslim nations and to place these pictures in the public arena is extremely dangerous. Our commanders on the ground General Petraeus and General Odierno have both made it clear that if these photos are seen by radical Islamic Jihadists American troops will be killed and the photos will be used by the enemy to provoke violence to further recruit insurgents on behalf of a violent anti-American cause. Today I stand with our President the United States Senate our Secretary of Defense and our commanders on the ground in supporting this legislation and it is my hope that this legislation will be included as an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act and I urge its expedited passage."
Last week 47 Members of the House Armed Services Committee stated their support for this legislation. 14 opposed.
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