Home>News Center>World
         
 

Rumsfeld visits Iraq, vows no abuse cover-up
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-05-14 08:34

Hoping to contain a spreading scandal, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld went to the Abu Ghraib prison camp on Thursday and insisted the Pentagon did not try to cover up abuses there. A top general with him said he had given clear guidelines months ago on the humane way to question Iraqi prisoners.


U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld meets military personnel at the Abu Ghraib Prison on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 13, 2004. [AP]

Rumsfeld arrived at Abu Ghraib by helicopter in a dust storm on a trip that provided respite from a storm of a different sort back in Washington. There, the No. 2 general and civilian at the Pentagon both indicated Thursday that interrogation techniques used in Iraq had violated the Geneva Conventions and said they did not know who, if anyone, had approved the use of those techniques.

The two, Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, said they were unaware of any U.S. military rules for interrogating prisoners that would allow them to be put in stressful positions, deprived of sleep for up to 72 hours, threatened with dogs or kept in isolation for more than 30 days.

Images of abuse have appeared in photos of Iraqi prisoners that were taken by American military guards at the prison near Baghdad. Pentagon officials have said the abuses reflected in the photos went beyond approved interrogation techniques.

In Iraq on Thursday, Rumsfeld called the controversy surrounding the prison a "body blow for all of us" and said the people who did wrong will be punished.

"You can be absolutely certain that the abuses of a few are not going to change how we manage this force," Rumsfeld told troops. "We need all of you to make this thing work for our country."

Rumsfeld also held out hope to his war-weary audience that international troops may soon arrive to augment their ranks, saying U.S. officials were engaged in talks with nations "that have capabilities to bring forces in" and those discussions were going well.

"I'm encouraged. I think we'll find that we will get additional forces," Rumsfeld said. He did not specify which or how many countries are involved, saying only "we're probably talking to a couple of handfuls, maybe three handfuls of nations."

The commander of Abu Ghraib gave Rumsfeld a tour that took him past dozens of Iraqi detainees lined up along the boundary of their outdoor camp, marked by rolls of concertina wire. Some detainees waved, some did not, and some stood expressionless as Rumsfeld's armored bus rolled by.

All 3,800 Iraqis at Abu Ghraib are "security detainees," said the commander, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, or people suspected of roles in insurgent attacks on coalition forces. No one is a prisoner of war, Miller said.

All prisoners under U.S. control will have been moved out of the old prison building by the end of the month, and a new complex of outdoor camps will be built to provide better living conditions.

Rumsfeld encouraged Miller to thin out the prisoner population as quickly as possible. Miller said 300 to 400 detainees per week are either released outright or transferred to the Iraqi justice system.

Speaking to reporters, Miller defended his role in advising U.S. authorities last fall on how to set up a detention and interrogation system in Iraq that could yield useful intelligence on the insurgency.

"I'm absolutely convinced we laid down the foundations for how you detain people humanely," said Miller, former commander of the U.S. prison compound at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of suspected terrorists are still being held from the Afghanistan war.

The Defense Department is investigating the abuse depicted in snapshots apparently taken by American military police guards at Abu Ghraib, and courts-martial have been ordered for three guards.

A central question is whether military intelligence officials encouraged the abuse at Abu Ghraib in order to "soften up" prisoners for interrogations.

During the flight to Baghdad, Rumsfeld fiercely defended the Pentagon's response to the Abu Ghraib allegations.

"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," Rumsfeld said. He also said "more bad things will come out, unquestionably," but did not elaborate.

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 prison camp at Guantanamo last week.

Church told reporters he found no major current problems at that prison. But the State Department said Thursday the International Red Cross had raised some concerns with the administration about prisoners held at the U.S. naval base.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Nick Berg died for Bush, Rumsfeld 'sins' - father

 

   
 

Nation reports fourth monthly trade deficit

 

   
 

CIA says Al-Zarqawi beheaded Berg in Iraq

 

   
 

Major differences exist in six-party talks

 

   
 

Gandhi-led opposition wins India election

 

   
 

Capital acts on low-end housing

 

   
  Vajpayee to resign as BJP loses in India
   
  Rumsfeld makes surprise visit to Baghdad
   
  New prison abuse images outrage lawmakers
   
  Some Arabs say beheading justified
   
  Syria criticizes sanctions, seeks talks
   
  First lady, first sign on Rumsfeld?
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Two more US soldiers face court-martial
   
Two more US soldiers face court-martial
   
US lawmakers: new abuse photos even worse
  News Talk  
  Scandal over humiliation of Iraqi prisoners  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 青青青青啪视频在线观看| avav在线播放| 日韩高清不卡在线| 亚洲熟女精品中文字幕| 第四色最新网站| 国产91久久久久久久免费| 黄a大片av永久免费| 国产精品久久久久久搜索| 91麻豆精品国产一级| 好吊妞国产欧美日韩免费观看 | 国产精品久久久久免费a∨| aaaaaa级特色特黄的毛片| 少妇人妻偷人精品一区二区 | 男人进女人下面全黄大色视频| 午夜视频久久久久一区| 菠萝蜜视频在线观看入口| 国产后入又长又硬| 成人中文字幕一区二区三区| 国产福利专区精品视频| 2020国产在线| 国产美女精品久久久久久久免费| 99精品国产在热久久| 女扒开尿口让男桶30分钟| 一级特黄aaa大片在| 成在线人AV免费无码高潮喷水| 久久一区二区明星换脸| 日本久久久久久久中文字幕| 久久国产色AV免费观看| 日韩欧美伊人久久大香线蕉| 九色综合久久综合欧美97| 欧美videosdesexo肥婆| 亚洲午夜精品久久久久久人妖| 欧美日韩国产综合在线| 亚洲理论片在线中文字幕| 涂了媚药的玉势| 国产精品无码久久综合| 亚洲欧美日韩电影| 精品三级在线观看| 免费理论片51人人看电影| 稚嫩娇小哭叫粗大撑破h| 免费无码AV一区二区三区|