Rumsfeld 'doing a superb job'

By RUPERT CORNWELL in Washington

Despite a ringing endorsement from President George W. Bush in front of his national security team, Donald Rumsfeld's future as Secretary of Defence was anything but secure as the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal continued to spread.

A visit by Bush to the Pentagon yesterday turned into a photo-opportunity vote of confidence in the embattled Rumsfeld, as Vice-President Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, the Secretary of State and CIA Director George Tenet assembled to hear the President heap praise upon him.

Bush vowed he would not change his policies in Iraq, despite the scandal sending shockwaves around the world, revolting allies and foes alike.

Indeed, it threatens to become even more damaging, with the seemingly inevitable release soon of new and if anything even more shocking images and video film of prisoner mistreatment.

"You are a strong Secretary of Defence and our nation owes you a debt of gratitude," Bush said at the Pentagon, with Cheney at his shoulder and Rumsfeld standing stiff and unblinking beside him. "You are doing a superb job."

Rumsfeld is a prime architect of the entire Iraq war. To remove him would not merely make him designated sacrificial victim for the scandal. It would be a tacit admission that overall Iraq policy had been mistaken and few Presidents have been more averse to admitting mistakes than this one.

Rumsfeld's fate depends on the attitude of senior Congressional Republicans, public reaction to new pictures of abuse, and whether the courts-martial and conviction of a few lowly soldiers will be deemed sufficient response.

Democrats are insisting he should go, while Republicans are lining up behind the President, insisting the Defence Secretary should stay. About the only Republican doubts have been voiced by independent-minded senators John McCain of Arizona and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

But the new pictures - "hundreds" of photos and some two dozen video clips in the possession of the Pentagon, as well as possible further material in private hands - could turn sentiment against Rumsfeld.

During his visit to the Pentagon, the President was shown some of the new photos. Rumsfeld's officials plan to show them to selected groups of Congressmen. This could happen as soon as today when Major-General Antonio Taguba, the author of the Pentagon's leaked internal report on the abuse, is due to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

In other developments yesterday:

* A Red Cross report says delegates saw US troops keeping Iraqi prisoners naked for days in darkness at the Abu Ghraib jail last October and was told by an intelligence officer it was "part of the process".

In the 24-page report, the Red Cross also said coalition military intelligence officers estimated up to 90 per cent of those detained in Iraq were arrested by mistake.

The Red Cross said mistreatment of prisoners "went beyond exceptional cases and might be considered as a practice tolerated by the CF [Coalition Forces]".

Abuse was "in some cases tantamount to torture".

* Amnesty International accused the British Army of unnecessarily killing Iraqi civilians.

Amnesty said that an 8-year-old Iraqi girl was among civilians shot dead by British troops in situations where there appeared to be no serious threat.

"In many cases where civilians have been killed by UK forces the British Army has not even opened an investigation," it added.

Among cases highlighted by the London-based group was that of 8-year-old Hanan Saleh Matroud, who was fatally shot in the stomach on August 21, 2003 while British soldiers were patrolling the town of Karmat Ali.

* The British Government sought to assure Parliament yesterday that military police inquiries into any abuses were proceeding quickly.

British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said that 33 cases of Iraqi civilian deaths, injuries and mistreatment at the hands of British forces had been investigated or were under investigation.

However, Hoon said he doubted the authenticity of photographs which first sparked the scandal surrounding the actions of British troops, published by the tabloid Daily Mirror on May 1.

These showed what appeared to be British soldiers abusing an Iraqi detainee by beating and urinating on him, backed up by testimony from troops speaking to the paper anonymously.

However in a swiftly issued rebuttal, Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan said his paper did not accept this, and demanded the Defence Ministry provide "incontrovertible evidence" of falsification.

- INDEPENDENT, REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq