Regrettably, it has become clear that torture of detainees in United States custody is not limited to Abu Ghraib or even Iraq. Since Abu Ghraib, there have been increasing reports of torture.

Our own State Department polls say that 80 percent of Iraqis view the United States as an unpopular occupier.

Under the leadership of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the United States has given up the moral high ground that we used to occupy as an international leader.

The reality is that al Qaeda has been trying to attack the United States since long before Iraq.

If we look at what the United States did in Iraq in the last three years, there are a lot of positive things and a lot of negative things. What the United States must do is to really understand Iraq in a different way.

I have been under assault by the liberal media in the United States.