Uncle Sam
05-13-2004, 11:31 AM
Yahoo! (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=1&u=/ap/20040513/ap_on_re_mi_ea/rumsfeld_iraq)
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, making a surprise visit to the Iraqi prison at the center of the abuse scandal, said Thursday that lawyers are advising the Pentagon (news - web sites) not to publicly release any more photographs of Iraqi prisoners being treated badly by U.S. soldiers.
He also dismissed as "garbage" any suggestion the Pentagon tried to cover up the prison abuse.
After meetings in Baghdad, the defense secretary traveled to the Abu Ghraib prison where American military police ******ly humiliated and abused Iraqi prisoners last fall, according to photos of the abuse that have stunned the world.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'd be happy to release them all to the public and to get it behind us," Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him from Washington. "But at the present time I don't know anyone in the legal shop in any element of the government that is recommending that."
The government lawyers argue that releasing such materials would violate a Geneva Convention stricture against presenting images of prisoners that could be construed as degrading, Rumsfeld said while en route to the Iraqi capital on a trip that was not announced in advance due to security concerns.
Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who runs the prison system in Iraq (news - web sites), defended his role in advising U.S. authorities last fall on how to set up a detention and interrogation system that would produce useful intelligence on people involved in the insurgency.
"I'm absolutely convinced we laid down the foundations for how you detain people humanely," he said. Miller had commanded the U.S. prison compound at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of suspected terrorists are still detained from the Afghanistan (news - web sites) war.
Miller said he plans to reduce the prisoner population at Abu Ghraib from the 3,800 who are there now to as few as 1,500 by June 15. In January, there were about 7,000 prisoners there.
Speaking later to U.S. troops, Rumsfeld said his trip was aimed in large part to ensure such abuses "will not happen again."
He said the incidents "sullied the reputation of our country. I was stunned. It was a body blow. And with six or seven investigations under way and a country that has values and a military justice system that has values, we know that those involved, whoever they are, will be brought to justice."
" .. It's important for each of you to know that that is not the values of America and it's not your values and I know that, and you know that and your families know that," he said.
Rumsfeld was accompanied by Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and several lawyers on a trip designed to reassure U.S. troops that the prisoner abuse scandal has not weakened public support for their mission and to get firsthand reports from the most senior commanders.
Neither hid his feelings about the tough questioning he endured from members of Congress over the prison abuses.
"I'm really glad to be here," Myers enthused.
Before taking questions from soldiers, Rumsfeld said, "It's generally a lot more fun here than it is back home."
The Pentagon officials arranged meetings with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, and other senior commanders.
Rumsfeld's trip followed President Bush (news - web sites)'s visit Monday to the Pentagon, where he got an update from commanders in Iraq and declared his unwavering support for Rumsfeld, who has taken a lot of criticism from members of Congress for his handling of the scandal. Some Democrats have called for his resignation, but Rumsfeld gave no indication Wednesday that he was considering quitting.
The 71-year-old defense chief did appear weary, however. He has weathered three lengthy rounds of questioning from congressional committees over the past several days. After taking questions aboard his plane for nearly an hour he called a sudden halt, saying his voice was giving out.
He fiercely defended the Pentagon's response to the revelations of U.S. guards at the Abu Ghraib prison having subjected Iraqi prisoners to ******ly humiliating treatment and photographing it.
"The garbage that you keep reading — about cover-up and the Pentagon doing something to keep some information from people — is unfair, inaccurate and wrong," he said. "And if I find any evidence that it's true, I'll stop it."
Rumsfeld also predicted that the abuse scandal would get worse in the days ahead.
"More bad things will come out, unquestionably," he said without being specific. "And time will settle over this and we'll be able to make an assessment of what the effect has been" on the effort to stabilize Iraq. "It clearly has not been helpful. It has been unhelpful."
He went on to complain bitterly about the Arab media's coverage of U.S. operations in Iraq.
"We have been lied about, day after day, week after week, month after month for the last 12 months in the Arab press." He specifically mentioned the al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya satellite TV networks.
Among his first responses to the international outcry over the abuse photos, Rumsfeld sent Vice Adm. Albert T. Church, the Navy's top investigative officer, to the U.S.-run prison camp for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, last week.
Church, who accompanied Rumsfeld on his trip to Iraq, told reporters en route from Washington that he found no major problems at that prison in Cuba.
"The directions of the secretary of defense with respect to the humane treatment of detainees and the interrogation techniques were being carried out, as best we could determine," Church said.
"We found minor infractions involving contact with detainees, and we documented eight of those."
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, making a surprise visit to the Iraqi prison at the center of the abuse scandal, said Thursday that lawyers are advising the Pentagon (news - web sites) not to publicly release any more photographs of Iraqi prisoners being treated badly by U.S. soldiers.
He also dismissed as "garbage" any suggestion the Pentagon tried to cover up the prison abuse.
After meetings in Baghdad, the defense secretary traveled to the Abu Ghraib prison where American military police ******ly humiliated and abused Iraqi prisoners last fall, according to photos of the abuse that have stunned the world.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'd be happy to release them all to the public and to get it behind us," Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him from Washington. "But at the present time I don't know anyone in the legal shop in any element of the government that is recommending that."
The government lawyers argue that releasing such materials would violate a Geneva Convention stricture against presenting images of prisoners that could be construed as degrading, Rumsfeld said while en route to the Iraqi capital on a trip that was not announced in advance due to security concerns.
Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who runs the prison system in Iraq (news - web sites), defended his role in advising U.S. authorities last fall on how to set up a detention and interrogation system that would produce useful intelligence on people involved in the insurgency.
"I'm absolutely convinced we laid down the foundations for how you detain people humanely," he said. Miller had commanded the U.S. prison compound at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of suspected terrorists are still detained from the Afghanistan (news - web sites) war.
Miller said he plans to reduce the prisoner population at Abu Ghraib from the 3,800 who are there now to as few as 1,500 by June 15. In January, there were about 7,000 prisoners there.
Speaking later to U.S. troops, Rumsfeld said his trip was aimed in large part to ensure such abuses "will not happen again."
He said the incidents "sullied the reputation of our country. I was stunned. It was a body blow. And with six or seven investigations under way and a country that has values and a military justice system that has values, we know that those involved, whoever they are, will be brought to justice."
" .. It's important for each of you to know that that is not the values of America and it's not your values and I know that, and you know that and your families know that," he said.
Rumsfeld was accompanied by Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and several lawyers on a trip designed to reassure U.S. troops that the prisoner abuse scandal has not weakened public support for their mission and to get firsthand reports from the most senior commanders.
Neither hid his feelings about the tough questioning he endured from members of Congress over the prison abuses.
"I'm really glad to be here," Myers enthused.
Before taking questions from soldiers, Rumsfeld said, "It's generally a lot more fun here than it is back home."
The Pentagon officials arranged meetings with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, and other senior commanders.
Rumsfeld's trip followed President Bush (news - web sites)'s visit Monday to the Pentagon, where he got an update from commanders in Iraq and declared his unwavering support for Rumsfeld, who has taken a lot of criticism from members of Congress for his handling of the scandal. Some Democrats have called for his resignation, but Rumsfeld gave no indication Wednesday that he was considering quitting.
The 71-year-old defense chief did appear weary, however. He has weathered three lengthy rounds of questioning from congressional committees over the past several days. After taking questions aboard his plane for nearly an hour he called a sudden halt, saying his voice was giving out.
He fiercely defended the Pentagon's response to the revelations of U.S. guards at the Abu Ghraib prison having subjected Iraqi prisoners to ******ly humiliating treatment and photographing it.
"The garbage that you keep reading — about cover-up and the Pentagon doing something to keep some information from people — is unfair, inaccurate and wrong," he said. "And if I find any evidence that it's true, I'll stop it."
Rumsfeld also predicted that the abuse scandal would get worse in the days ahead.
"More bad things will come out, unquestionably," he said without being specific. "And time will settle over this and we'll be able to make an assessment of what the effect has been" on the effort to stabilize Iraq. "It clearly has not been helpful. It has been unhelpful."
He went on to complain bitterly about the Arab media's coverage of U.S. operations in Iraq.
"We have been lied about, day after day, week after week, month after month for the last 12 months in the Arab press." He specifically mentioned the al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya satellite TV networks.
Among his first responses to the international outcry over the abuse photos, Rumsfeld sent Vice Adm. Albert T. Church, the Navy's top investigative officer, to the U.S.-run prison camp for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, last week.
Church, who accompanied Rumsfeld on his trip to Iraq, told reporters en route from Washington that he found no major problems at that prison in Cuba.
"The directions of the secretary of defense with respect to the humane treatment of detainees and the interrogation techniques were being carried out, as best we could determine," Church said.
"We found minor infractions involving contact with detainees, and we documented eight of those."