Bush apologises for Iraqi prisoner abuses

10.00am



WASHINGTON - President George W Bush said today that he is "sorry for the humiliation" suffered by Iraqi prisoners at the hands of Americans as he struggled to stem a rising tide of criticism of over the abuse of detainees by US soldiers.


"It's a stain on our country's honour and our country's reputation," Bush said in the White House Rose Garden.


His apology was made voluntarily at the opening of a news conference with Jordan's King Abdullah.


Reporters had been pressing the White House to explain why Bush did not apologise on Wednesday in two Arabic television interviews in which he strongly condemned the abuses but was not asked whether he wanted to apologise.


The Bush administration has been struggling to deal with the fallout from the release a week ago of photographs showing Iraqi prisoners in humiliating poses. A new photograph appeared on Thursday showing a female American soldier holding a leash tied around the neck of a naked Iraqi lying on the floor.


Bush said he told Abdullah: "I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families...I assured him that Americans like me didn't appreciate what we saw, and it made us sick to our stomachs."


Abdullah, asked how much damage the images were having in his country, gave a diplomatic response. "I think the reaction in Jordan as well as the reaction here in the United States was the same. I think we're all horrified by the images."


The scandal has led to calls on Capitol Hill for Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign or be fired. Bush said he complained to Rumsfeld on Wednesday that he should have been told about the pictures and a report on the abuses before they hit the news media.


But he rejected appeals for Rumsfeld's scalp.


"Secretary Rumsfeld has been the secretary during two wars and he's an important part of my Cabinet and he'll stay in my Cabinet," Bush said.


White House spokesman Scott McClellan, asked if Bush assumed any responsibility for what happened, said: "The people who are responsible for this need to be held accountable. That's what the president believes."


The United States revealed on Tuesday that 25 prisoners have died in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, including two Iraqi prisoners murdered by Americans and one ruled a justifiable homicide. Twelve were found to have died of natural or undetermined causes and 10 are being investigated.


The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had repeatedly urged the United States to take "corrective action" at Baghdad Abu Ghraib prison.


White House officials have said Bush was generally informed about the allegations by Rumsfeld at around the time the US military put out a news release on it on Jan. 16.


The officials said Bush told Rumsfeld at the time that he wanted the matter investigated fully. But it was unclear if Bush asked any follow-up questions until the case blew up into the public eye last week.


"We will take a good, full look at a variety of issues to make sure it doesn't happen again," Bush said.


The president's apology came as his job approval rating, buffeted by violence in Iraq, was at 49 per cent, compared to 48 per cent who said they did not approve, according to a new Gallup poll.


In a development that could stir further concerns at his re-election campaign, the poll said 62 per cent of Americans were not satisfied with the way things are going in the country.


- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq