Bush stands behind Rumsfeld

2004-05-05 17:23

Washington - US President George W Bush "absolutely" still has faith in Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and does not believe he should resign, White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said on Wednesday.

Asked whether the president thought Rumsfeld should quit in the wake of the scandal over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US troops, McClellan curtly replied: "No."

Asked whether Bush still had faith in his defence secretary, McClellan replied: "Absolutely."

The remarks came after democratic senator Joe Biden of Delaware, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, suggested earlier on Wednesday that Rumsfeld should step down if he had played a role in the scandal.

"If it goes all the way to Rumsfeld, then he should resign," Biden told NBC television.

"Who is in charge?" he asked. "I mean, look, every single solitary decision made almost since the fall of Saddam Hussein has been mistaken.

"Who is making these decisions? It's not the president of the United States of America. He ultimately makes decisions based on information presented to him by top officials in his administration.

"The president is being very ill served," Biden said, calling Bush's decision to "apologise to the Arab world" in interviews with Arab television networks on Wednesday "a smart move."

- AFP