Bush stands by Rumsfeld

WASHINGTON – President Bush examined new photos and video clips of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners Monday, reacting with “deep disgust and disbelief” during a Pentagon visit in which he underscored his support for embattled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The president spent the morning in damage-control mode at the Pentagon, where he convened an extraordinary gathering of top military, diplomatic, legal and intelligence advisers.

Seeking to douse speculation about Rumsfeld’s future, Bush stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the secretary – along with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, CIA Director George Tenet and other civilian and military officials – to offer a testimonial before television cameras. Then Bush went behind closed doors to view about two dozen video clips and photos, which have not been released publicly, showing U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners.

Rumsfeld’s spokesman, Larry Di Rita, called the images “disturbing,” and said they showed humiliation of prisoners as well as “inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature.” They were consistent with what has been seen in photographs published around the world in recent days, Di Rita said.

“The president’s reaction was one of deep disgust and disbelief that anyone who wears our uniform would engage in such shameful and appalling acts,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Bush said in his public remarks, “The conduct that has come to light is an insult to the Iraqi people and an affront to the most basic standards of morality and decency.”

The Pentagon has not yet decided whether to make the videos public, and White House officials repeatedly sidestepped questions about the president’s opinion on that subject. Bush twice ignored reporters’ questions about the matter.

McClellan did say the administration was seeking a way to share them with Congress, so lawmakers can “carry out their oversight responsibility.”

On Capitol Hill, Republican and Democratic leaders made clear they want all members of the Senate to be able to view the photos and videos not yet made public.

Bush also wanted to support Rumsfeld on Monday, as Rumsfeld faced new questions about his fitness to serve.

“You are courageously leading our nation in the war against terror,” Bush said. “You’re doing a superb job. You are a strong secretary of defense, and our nation owes you a debt of gratitude.”

The defense secretary stood with his hands clasped behind his back during Bush’s remarks.

The Army Times, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper read by a quarter-million troops around the world, said in an editorial that responsibility for the abuse lies at the highest levels of the Pentagon, including Rumsfeld and Myers. Both men are guilty of “professional negligence,” the editorial said.

Other developments

* No television cameras will be allowed in the courtroom at next week’s court-martial of Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits, the first trial in the prison abuse scandal, the military indicated.

* A U.S. aircraft destroyed a Baghdad office of Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric.

* Gunmen fired on a vehicle in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, killing two foreign construction workers and their Iraqi driver, the city’s police chief said.

* Patrols and checkpoints in Iraq have become so risky that the U.S. Army is issuing bulletproof vests to bomb-sniffing dogs to protect them too from roadside bombs and drive-by shootings. War dogs in Afghanistan already have the vests.

* Prime Minister Tony Blair told a news conference he did not know the specifics of Red Cross allegations of U.S. and British abuse of Iraqi prisoners until “the last few days.” British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Monday that published photos purportedly showing British troops abusing Iraqi prisoners look “increasingly like a hoax.”

* Fifty-five percent of the 1,001 adult Britons surveyed for The Independent newspaper said British troops should be withdrawn once sovereignty is handed over to the interim Iraqi government June 30; 28 percent were opposed.

* Amnesty International alleged British soldiers have shot and killed Iraqi civilians, including an 8-year-old girl, in situations where the troops were under no apparent threat.

* Nelson Mandela lashed out at the United States and Britain over Iraq in a Cape Town speech Monday. Mandela’s speech, on the 10th anniversary of his inauguration as the first black president of South Africa, was billed as probably the 85-year-old’s last to Parliament.

Other developments

* No television cameras will be allowed in the courtroom at next week’s court-martial of Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits, the first trial in the prison abuse scandal, the military indicated.

* A U.S. aircraft destroyed a Baghdad office of Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric.

* Gunmen fired on a vehicle in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, killing two foreign construction workers and their Iraqi driver, the city’s police chief said.

* British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a news conference he did not know the specifics of Red Cross allegations of U.S. and British abuse of Iraqi prisoners until “the last few days.” British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said Monday that published photos purportedly showing British troops abusing Iraqi prisoners look “increasingly like a hoax.”

* Fifty-five percent of the 1,001 adult Britons surveyed for The Independent newspaper said British troops should be withdrawn once sovereignty is handed over to the interim Iraqi government June 30; 28 percent were opposed.

* Amnesty International alleged British soldiers have shot and killed Iraqi civilians, including an 8-year-old girl, in situations where the troops were under no apparent threat.

* Nelson Mandela lashed out at the United States and Britain over Iraq in a Cape Town speech Monday. Mandela’s speech, on the 10th anniversary of his inauguration as the first black president of South Africa, was billed as probably the 85-year-old’s last to Parliament.

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