US congress sees more evidence of Iraq inmate abuse

1.00pm

WASHINGTON - New images of Iraqi prisoner abuse contain awful scenes of violence and sexual humiliation, members of the US Congress said after a viewing on Wednesday that one lawmaker likened to a descent into "the wings of hell".

Some top Republicans urged the pictures not be released publicly, saying they could endanger US forces overseas.

"I would state, though, from at least my perspective, that what we saw is appalling. It is consistent with the photos that you've seen in the press to date.

"They go beyond that in many ways in terms of the various activities that are depicted," Senate majority leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said.

"There were some awful scenes. It felt like you were descending into one of the wings of hell and sadly it was our own creation," senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said.

"And when you think of the sadism, the violence, the sexual humiliation, after a while you just turn away, you just can't take it any more.

"I still cannot believe that this happened without the knowledge of those at higher levels," Durbin added.

Senators and members of the House of Representatives had a chance to look at more than 1200 images in separate secure rooms in a presentation conducted by the Pentagon.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned last week the pictures could worsen a scandal sparked by photographs shown around the world in recent weeks of naked prisoners stacked in a pyramid or positioned to simulate sex acts at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

The pictures ignited international outrage and shook US global prestige as the United States seeks to stabilise Iraq.

An Islamic website on Tuesday showed an American civilian, Nick Berg of suburban Philadelphia, being beheaded by an al Qaeda leader in Iraq in what his killers described as revenge for the "Satanic degradation" of Iraqi prisoners.

Representative Jane Harman, a California Democrat, said the new pictures showed "cruel and sadistic torture".

She described as "gut wrenching" an image of a nearly naked man "handcuffed to a wall, beating his head against the wall, recoiling back and forward, probably trying to knock himself unconscious and avoid having to live through the experience".

Lawmakers said the images were shown fairly rapidly and with minimal explanation. Some images appeared unrelated to the treatment of prisoners, they said. There were a number of images of prisoners masturbating, lawmakers said.

Senator James Jeffords, a Vermont independent, said the pictures were "horrible. But they go by so fast. Terrible scenes. ... It was click, click, click.

"There are a lot of dead people shown, and a lot of people brutalised," Jeffords said, although adding it was unclear if the wounds were sustained in battle or after they were imprisoned.

Senate armed services committee chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican, urged the images not be released before trials related to the abuses of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison.

"I feel very strongly that these photographs should not be made public. I feel that it could possibly endanger the men and the women of the armed forces as they are serving and at great risk," Warner said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq