- (AFP) - United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
and armed forces chief General Richard Myers have arrived in Baghdad on
a surprise visit, amid an ongoing prisoner abuse scandal.
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- Mr Rumsfeld and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
flew into Baghdad international airport amid world anger at the ill-treatment
of Iraqi prisoners by US troops, which has deeply embarrassed the US Government
and the Defence Secretary in particular.
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- "I want to hear from those responsible for the day-to-day
work of detainee operations," he told reporters on his plane.
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- "We care about detainees being treated right, we
care about soldiers behaving right, we care about command systems working."
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- But Mr Rumsfeld insisted he was not on a damping down
mission after coming under serious criticism in the US for his handling
of the scandal.
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- "If anyone thinks I am there to throw water on a
fire they are wrong," he said, adding he was going to Iraq "to
thank US troops for the fine job they are doing and meet their commanders".
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- http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1107860.htm
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