Wrath
May 6th, 2004, 08:54
WASHINGTON — President Bush has chastised Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (search) for failing to tell him about pictures of prisoner mistreatment in Iraq, White House aides said.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post in its Thursday editions said it had obtained a new batch of more than 1,000 digital photos from Iraq. The newspaper said the photos ranged from snapshots depicting everyday military life to graphic images of what appeared to be a female soldier holding a leash that goes around a naked man's neck at Abu Ghraib (search) prison.
Friends and relatives of the soldier with the leash said the photo must have been staged, the Post said. The newspaper acknowledged that it "could not eliminate the possibility that some of them were staged."
Bush went on Arab TV on Wednesday and said Americans were appalled by the abuse and deaths of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. soldiers. He promised that, "justice will be delivered."
"People in Iraq must understand that I view those practices as abhorrent," Bush said in an interview with Alhurra (search), an Arab-language network funded by the U.S. government. He also gave an interview to Al Arabiya (search).
"They also must understand that what took place in that prison does not represent the America I know. The America I know is a compassionate country that believes in freedom. The America I know cares about every individual."
Bush said that what happened at Abu Ghraib prison was "more than an allegation, in this case, actual abuse -- we saw the pictures. There will be a full investigation." He said he retained confidence in Rumsfeld.
Rumsfeld was summoned by angry lawmakers to testify on Capitol Hill on Friday, while senators -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- discussed a resolution to condemn the abuses.
However, White House aides said Bush let Rumsfeld know in recent days he was "not satisfied" with the way he was informed about the unfolding scandal. In particular, Bush was unhappy about learning of the pictures only when they were broadcast, and not before, said the aides.
Rumsfeld himself did not know about the images of naked prisoners and gloating U.S. soldiers until CBS broadcast them, a senior White House official said.
Other U.S. officials said Rumsfeld and the Pentagon resisted appeals in recent months from the State Department and the Coalition Provisional Authority to deal with problems relating to detainees, The Washington Post reported. Secretary of State Colin Powell urged action in several White House meetings that included Rumsfeld, the officials said.
"It's something Powell has raised repeatedly -- to release as many detainees as possible -- and, second, to ensure that those in custody are properly cared for and treated," a senior State Department official familiar with the discussions told the Post.
Bush's administration on Wednesday asked Congress for an additional $25 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while also dealing with the Army's acknowledgment that at least a dozen deaths at prisons and detention camps remained under scrutiny by criminal investigators.
"After the Sept. 11 attacks, the president said that the war on terror would [be] long, difficult, and at times messy. He was right, and we are now involved in a worldwide conflict, from Iraq and Afghanistan, to other parts of the globe," House Speaker Dennis Hastert (search), R-Ill., said in a statement about the extra funding.
"We have no choice but to support our president and our troops at this critical time."
A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that the White House considers the $25 billion as a "contingency reserve fund" and that it's an "insurance policy" to ensure there's no disruption in cash flow and to give the commanders in the field comfort they will have the resources they need on hand.
CIA Probes Deaths
The CIA's inspector general also was looking into three deaths that may have involved agency officers or contractors, intelligence officials said. It was unclear how many of these CIA investigations involved the same prison deaths as the military's investigators, although Army officials said at least one did.
In Iraq, the new general in charge of prisons there apologized for the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, and troops launched a new offensive against the followers of a rebel cleric.
Sen. John Kerry (search), Bush's Democratic rival, said the president's remarks Wednesday were not enough.
"The president of the United States needs to offer the world an explanation and needs to take appropriate responsibility," Kerry said. "And if that includes apologizing for the behavior of those soldiers and what happened, they ought to do that."
Bush said the abuses were "terrible" for America's image abroad. "I think people in the Middle East who want to dislike America will use this as an excuse to remind people about their dislike," he told Al-Arabiya television, a satellite channel based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that is popular around the Arab world.
Mouafac Harb, news director for Alhurra, told Fox News that Bush's interview definitely helped the United States' image in the Arab world.
"The fact that the president of the United States personally took the stage … I think it worked," Harb said. "He said 'justice' in his interview and I think, ultimately, people will be waiting to see that."
Harb said there's also one element most media seem to be ignoring.
"The heroes of the story are those soldiers who brought out the pictures, who blew the whistle and that's the story we don't hear about."
Talal Al-Hal, the Washington bureau chief for Al Arabiya, said his station didn't broadcast the Bush interview in English because the translation would have lessened the effect. He noted that most Arabs speak and understand English.
"We wanted to convey the sincerity and the exact words of the president ... when you do translation, you lose some of the spirit of the speaker," AL-Hal told Fox News.
Asked if Bush should have come out and said "I'm sorry" for the reports of abuse instead of leaving it to his spokesmen, Al-Hal replied: "If he had been forthcoming with an apology, it would have been much appreciated. Nonetheless, his remarks will much appreciated" but the United States still has a long way to go to "raise the image" of America after this ordeal, Al-Hal continued.
In Iraq, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the new commander of U.S.-run prisons, apologized for the abuse of prisoners and said he would invite observers from the Red Cross and Iraqi government into Abu Ghraib prison.
"These are violations not only of our national policy but of how we conduct ourselves as members of the international community," Miller said.
The Bush administration's $25 billion request marks a retreat from the White House's earlier plans not to seek such money until after the November elections.
For months, administration officials had insisted they had enough money to last until the new year. This year's expected record federal deficit could be a significant issue in the election campaign.
Congress and Bush enacted an $87.5 billion package in November for this year's U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In April 2003, a $79.5 billion measure was approved for that year's activities.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119156,00.html
It really doesn't look good that Bush was the last to know about the pictures. He should have been among the first. I can't understand how they let this come to this when they knew the world was watching. It should have been made crystal clear from the beginning that prisoners were to be treated properly. If I was Bush I'd be pissed at Rumsfeld too. I've always liked Rumsfeld but I think this was just plain stupid and very very short sighted.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post in its Thursday editions said it had obtained a new batch of more than 1,000 digital photos from Iraq. The newspaper said the photos ranged from snapshots depicting everyday military life to graphic images of what appeared to be a female soldier holding a leash that goes around a naked man's neck at Abu Ghraib (search) prison.
Friends and relatives of the soldier with the leash said the photo must have been staged, the Post said. The newspaper acknowledged that it "could not eliminate the possibility that some of them were staged."
Bush went on Arab TV on Wednesday and said Americans were appalled by the abuse and deaths of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. soldiers. He promised that, "justice will be delivered."
"People in Iraq must understand that I view those practices as abhorrent," Bush said in an interview with Alhurra (search), an Arab-language network funded by the U.S. government. He also gave an interview to Al Arabiya (search).
"They also must understand that what took place in that prison does not represent the America I know. The America I know is a compassionate country that believes in freedom. The America I know cares about every individual."
Bush said that what happened at Abu Ghraib prison was "more than an allegation, in this case, actual abuse -- we saw the pictures. There will be a full investigation." He said he retained confidence in Rumsfeld.
Rumsfeld was summoned by angry lawmakers to testify on Capitol Hill on Friday, while senators -- Republicans and Democrats alike -- discussed a resolution to condemn the abuses.
However, White House aides said Bush let Rumsfeld know in recent days he was "not satisfied" with the way he was informed about the unfolding scandal. In particular, Bush was unhappy about learning of the pictures only when they were broadcast, and not before, said the aides.
Rumsfeld himself did not know about the images of naked prisoners and gloating U.S. soldiers until CBS broadcast them, a senior White House official said.
Other U.S. officials said Rumsfeld and the Pentagon resisted appeals in recent months from the State Department and the Coalition Provisional Authority to deal with problems relating to detainees, The Washington Post reported. Secretary of State Colin Powell urged action in several White House meetings that included Rumsfeld, the officials said.
"It's something Powell has raised repeatedly -- to release as many detainees as possible -- and, second, to ensure that those in custody are properly cared for and treated," a senior State Department official familiar with the discussions told the Post.
Bush's administration on Wednesday asked Congress for an additional $25 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while also dealing with the Army's acknowledgment that at least a dozen deaths at prisons and detention camps remained under scrutiny by criminal investigators.
"After the Sept. 11 attacks, the president said that the war on terror would [be] long, difficult, and at times messy. He was right, and we are now involved in a worldwide conflict, from Iraq and Afghanistan, to other parts of the globe," House Speaker Dennis Hastert (search), R-Ill., said in a statement about the extra funding.
"We have no choice but to support our president and our troops at this critical time."
A senior administration official told reporters Wednesday that the White House considers the $25 billion as a "contingency reserve fund" and that it's an "insurance policy" to ensure there's no disruption in cash flow and to give the commanders in the field comfort they will have the resources they need on hand.
CIA Probes Deaths
The CIA's inspector general also was looking into three deaths that may have involved agency officers or contractors, intelligence officials said. It was unclear how many of these CIA investigations involved the same prison deaths as the military's investigators, although Army officials said at least one did.
In Iraq, the new general in charge of prisons there apologized for the mistreatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison, and troops launched a new offensive against the followers of a rebel cleric.
Sen. John Kerry (search), Bush's Democratic rival, said the president's remarks Wednesday were not enough.
"The president of the United States needs to offer the world an explanation and needs to take appropriate responsibility," Kerry said. "And if that includes apologizing for the behavior of those soldiers and what happened, they ought to do that."
Bush said the abuses were "terrible" for America's image abroad. "I think people in the Middle East who want to dislike America will use this as an excuse to remind people about their dislike," he told Al-Arabiya television, a satellite channel based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that is popular around the Arab world.
Mouafac Harb, news director for Alhurra, told Fox News that Bush's interview definitely helped the United States' image in the Arab world.
"The fact that the president of the United States personally took the stage … I think it worked," Harb said. "He said 'justice' in his interview and I think, ultimately, people will be waiting to see that."
Harb said there's also one element most media seem to be ignoring.
"The heroes of the story are those soldiers who brought out the pictures, who blew the whistle and that's the story we don't hear about."
Talal Al-Hal, the Washington bureau chief for Al Arabiya, said his station didn't broadcast the Bush interview in English because the translation would have lessened the effect. He noted that most Arabs speak and understand English.
"We wanted to convey the sincerity and the exact words of the president ... when you do translation, you lose some of the spirit of the speaker," AL-Hal told Fox News.
Asked if Bush should have come out and said "I'm sorry" for the reports of abuse instead of leaving it to his spokesmen, Al-Hal replied: "If he had been forthcoming with an apology, it would have been much appreciated. Nonetheless, his remarks will much appreciated" but the United States still has a long way to go to "raise the image" of America after this ordeal, Al-Hal continued.
In Iraq, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, the new commander of U.S.-run prisons, apologized for the abuse of prisoners and said he would invite observers from the Red Cross and Iraqi government into Abu Ghraib prison.
"These are violations not only of our national policy but of how we conduct ourselves as members of the international community," Miller said.
The Bush administration's $25 billion request marks a retreat from the White House's earlier plans not to seek such money until after the November elections.
For months, administration officials had insisted they had enough money to last until the new year. This year's expected record federal deficit could be a significant issue in the election campaign.
Congress and Bush enacted an $87.5 billion package in November for this year's U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In April 2003, a $79.5 billion measure was approved for that year's activities.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119156,00.html
It really doesn't look good that Bush was the last to know about the pictures. He should have been among the first. I can't understand how they let this come to this when they knew the world was watching. It should have been made crystal clear from the beginning that prisoners were to be treated properly. If I was Bush I'd be pissed at Rumsfeld too. I've always liked Rumsfeld but I think this was just plain stupid and very very short sighted.