Bush says 'sorry'
2004-05-06 20:27
Washington - President George W Bush on Thursday offered his first apology for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US troops and blamed defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld for not keeping him better informed.
At the same time, the president categorically rejected mounting calls for Rumsfeld to quit or be fired in the controversy, which has sparked a global outcry, US consternation and widespread anger in the Muslim world.
Speaking after a private meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, Bush revealed: "I told him I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families."
'Scolded' Rumsfeld
Bush, who met Rumsfeld on Wednesday to discuss the growing scandal, said he had scolded the pentagon chief for letting him learn of the graphic photographs documenting the abuse via television broadcasts a week ago.
"I told him I should have known about the pictures and the report," he said - an apparent reference to a pentagon document completed in March, detailing the behaviour by US troops at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.
Still, Bush dismissed the growing chorus of calls by lawmakers for him to get rid of Rumsfeld, saying: "He's an important part of my cabinet and he'll stay in my cabinet."
The president had stopped short of apologising for the mistreatment shown in photographs of gloating US soldiers humiliating Iraqi prisoners, most of them naked, in some cases by putting them in positions simulating sex acts.
Acts 'abhorrent'
"The acts were abhorrent. They sickened my stomach," said Bush.
"I think we're all horrified by the images," echoed the king, who echoed his host's message that the abuse "doesn't reflect on the morals, the values, that the United States stands for".
"I am quite convinced that once the investigation is under way, those that are guilty of these crimes will be brought to justice," said King Abdullah.
"We'll find out the truth," promised Bush, who said he had ordered a comprehensive investigation into US-run prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The White House has shed little light on when Bush first learned of the scandal, although he said in one of two interviews with satellite television networks which target Arab audiences that he first saw the photographs when the CBS television network broadcast them last week.
Published reports say the pentagon had the photographs as early as mid-January 2004, when the US-led coalition in Iraq announced it had launched an investigation into possible abuses of Iraqi detainees.
And General Pete Pace, deputy chair of the joint chiefs of staff, has said that "everyone was kept apprised orally of the ongoing investigation" launched after a soldier at Abu Ghraib expressed concern on January 13.
Asked on Wednesday whether Bush and General Richard Myers, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, were well aware of the situation, Pace told CBS television: "Yes."