Post by POA on May 5, 2004 1:01:16 GMT -5
Last Updated: Wednesday, 5 May, 2004, 04:28 GMT 05:28 UK
Bush appeal to Arabs in abuse row
Bush is trying to limit the damage caused by the abuse scandal
US President George W Bush is to appear on Arab TV channels on Wednesday in an attempt to regain trust after US forces were caught in an abuse scandal.
Photographs have emerged showing inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad stripped naked and humiliated.
Mr Bush will say the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners is "shameless and unacceptable", his spokesman said.
The US military has admitted to 25 deaths in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, including two murders.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president would offer interviews to the US-sponsored al-Hurra television network and the Arab network al-Arabiya.
Damage limitation
"This is an opportunity for the president to speak directly to the people in Arab nations and let them know that the images that we all have seen are shameless and unacceptable," Mr McClellan said.
TAGUBA REPORT FINDINGS
Detainees threatened with loaded pistol
Inmates beaten and sexually abused
Prisoners photographed in sexual positions
Detainees threatened with dogs
Abu Ghraib abuse report
"These images do not represent what America stands for, nor do they represent the high standards of conduct that our military is committed to upholding," he continued.
Mr Bush's appearances are the latest attempt to limit the damage from the scandal, which has caused anger in Arab states and shock and condemnation around the world.
On Tuesday US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said those responsible for the "unacceptable and un-American" conduct would be brought to justice.
The Pentagon has confirmed that criminal charges have been filed against six US soldiers in relation to the photos, while six senior officers have been reprimanded.
Deaths in custody
But there have been concerns that the mistreatment is more widespread.
A senior army official said there had been investigations into 25 cases of death and 10 of abuse in US custody in Iraq or Afghanistan since December 2002.
The BBC's Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs says of the 25 deaths, 12 were found to be either of natural or "undetermined" causes, one was a "justifiable homicide", and two were murders. Ten inquiries are ongoing, he says.
The abuse scandal has deepened with the revelation that a report into mistreatment at Abu Ghraib was commissioned in January and completed in early March, but had still not been read by Mr Rumsfeld as of Tuesday.
The report by Maj Gen Antonio Taguba found evidence of "sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses of Iraqi prisoners", including sexual abuse.
Members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee have demanded to know why they were kept in the dark about the report, and have called for an opportunity to question Mr Rumsfeld.
Meanwhile the Pentagon announced that a force of about 138,000 troops will remain in Iraq throughout next year.
It is an increase on the original planned deployment of between 105,000 and 115,000 troops, and a recognition that keeping control on the ground is still a very difficult job.
US forces will play the major enforcement role even after the official handover of power to Iraqis on 30 June.