- WASHINGTON -- Donald Rumsfeld
yesterday offered his "deepest apology" to Iraqi prisoners who
have been humiliatingly abused by US troops. But he made clear he had no
intention of resigning, and rejected charges that the Pentagon had failed
to respond to repeated warnings that abuse was taking place.
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- At the same time the US Defense Secretary revealed that
other hitherto unseen photos and videos existed, depicting behaviour as
bad as or worse than in the pictures already published, which have sent
a tidal wave of shock and revulsion around the world.
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- The new material, Mr Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services
Committee, "was hard to believe". It showed acts of abuse that
were "blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhuman". Some of it was
in video form, which may be even more graphic and harrowing than the still
photos. "If these are released to the public, obviously it's going
to make matters worse. That's just a fact," he added.
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- With demands for his resignation multiplying, Mr Rumsfeld
opened his testimony with the plain admission that "these events occurred
on my watch. As Secretary of Defense, I am accountable for them. I take
full responsibility."
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- He expressed "deep regret" for the damage that
had been done to the reputation of the military and of America itself around
the world.
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- Hardly had he begun than hecklers in the committee room
broke out with chants of "Fire Rumsfeld," and "Free the
illegal detainees". Proceedings were held up for a full minute as
they were led out, as Mr Rumsfeld stared silently ahead.
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- As expected, the Defense Secretary announced that an
independent commission would be set up to examine the Pentagon's handling
of the affair, alongside the "many" investigations already under
way. But neither he, nor General Richard Myers, the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, nor other top Army officers who testified, would say how
far up the chain of command any punishment would extend.
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- "Words alone are not enough," said Carl Levin
of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the panel, while other senators made
it clear that they would not accept punishment being limited to "a
few privates and corporals."
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- However President Bush, so far at least, has stood behind
his embattled Defense Secretary.
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- Mr Rumsfeld started out in uncharacteristically contrite
fashion. But as the questioning grew sharp, the familiar combative Rumsfeld
returned. Barely concealing his anger, he dismissed charges from Edward
Kennedy, the Massachusetts senator, that the Defense Department had ignored
warnings about the abuse from the International Red Cross, the Coalition
Provisional Authority in Baghdad and the State Department "for months".
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- "That's not correct," Mr Rumsfeld said, "It's
not correct to say nothing was done. There were numerous discussions."
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- Some of the most heated exchanges centred on why the
Pentagon waited so long to go public with the material, which they first
learnt of in January, so that the first the country (and senior Congressmen)
knew of the abuse was when CBS television aired its photos 10 days ago.
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- But Mr Rumsfeld gave no ground, insisting despite the
calls for him to go, he still had the standing and authority to do his
job. "We've got tough tasks ahead. If I felt I couldn't be effective
I'd resign in a minute. But I won't resign simply because people make a
political point of it," he said.
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- As he spoke, in the first of two appearances on Capitol
Hill yesterday, new disclosures emerged about the scandal, including suggestions
it could stretch well beyond the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
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- In Geneva, the International Red Cross said it had warned
US officials of mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq more than a year ago.
"We were dealing here with a broad pattern, not individual acts. There
was a pattern and a system," Pierre Kraehenbuehl, the ICRC's director
of operations, said.
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- How successful Mr Rumsfeld will be in blunting his foes'
criticism, was not immediately clear. Senator John McCain of Arizona, the
most outspoken Republican on the committee, said he was "not satisfied"
by what he had heard.
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- But for all their dislike of his highhanded ways and
disdain for Congress, other Republicans were likely to rally round, aware
that his departure could provoke an even more dangerous crisis of credibility
for President Bush himself.
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- But Democrats were unlikely to be satisfied, echoing
the demand of the New York Times, the Boston Globe and half a dozen other
leading newspapers for Mr Rumsfeld's resignation.
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- Even some Republicans were impatient at the bureaucratic
process that lay ahead. "We need immediate disclosure of all relevant
information," said Mr McCain. He demanded to know the exact chain
of command which led from the privates at Abu Ghraib to Mr Rumsfeld in
person.
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- To their evident embarrassment, the generals present
could not produce the information. But the guards were told they had to
follow the Geneva Conventions for the treatment of prisoners of war, General
Lance Smith, deputy chief of Central Command, said.
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- RUMSFELD'S RULES * Don't begin to think you're the President.
You're not. The Constitution provides for only one. * If you foul up, tell
the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes. * Preserve
the President's options. He may need them. * It is easier to get into something
than to get out of it. * The price of being close to the President is delivering
bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't do
it. * Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk
in their shoes. * Remember the public trust. Strive to preserve and enhance
the integrity of the office of the Presidency. Pledge to leave it stronger
than when you came. * Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems. * Don't
think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles de Gaulle
said, the cemeteries are full of indispensable men. * Keep your sense of
humour. As General Joe Stilwell said, "The higher a monkey climbs,
the more you see of his behind."
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=519246
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