Bush appeal to Arabs in abuse row

[POA]

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.

[Moses]

I saw that-- he clearly thinks he can charm the whole world. We'll see.

[karpomrx]

The Great Leader is trying to hold out the olive branch to these ungrateful ragheads. He will be able to go in front of his brownshirts and exclaim" I tried to reason with them! They simply don't want freedom and truth and justice and the american way!"
I have become so cynical that I cannot think of ANY deed this whacko and his fellow nutcases could do that would cause more than a ripple in the ratings.

[Moses]

Karpo-- your cynicism is warranted.

Has anyone seem tape of Our Dear Leader's propaganda appearance -- the one on the Arab tvs I mean.

[POA]

I haven't seen any tape of what he said, but I found the following article with reviews of his performance. (There really is no better word for what he does).

It will convince almost no one'

The Arab papers respond to Bush's appearances on Arabic television

Saturday May 8, 2004
The Guardian

Bahrain Tribune
Editorial, May 7

"No expression of 'deep disgust' by President George Bush or apology by the US military will ever change or even minimise the hatred felt in Iraq and the Arab world towards the Americans and their coalition. Mr Bush said that the way the US military treated Iraqis is 'not the way we do things in America'. This may be true about the US when it deals with Americans. But since the US administration has one set of standards for Americans and Israel and another for Iraqis and Arabs, respect for human rights somehow turns into a joke...

"With the recent pictures from the Abu Ghraib prison, Arabs will not be in the proper state of mind to look kindly at the American quest for winning the war on terrorism despite the fact that they hate terrorism and the terrorists more than they resent the American administration."

Jordan Times
Editorial, May 7

"Mr Bush almost did his best to express his anger and dismay at the abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison ... But he still failed to get a favourable reading from the Arab and non-Arab worlds for his reaction to these atrocities.

"True, the president said the pictures of abused and tortured Iraqi prisoners are abhorrent and do not reflect the America that he knows. Yet, by admitting that he had ordered an investigation into the abuse of Iraqi and Afghan prisoners as far back as January, his argument that he had not personally been aware of the photographs of Iraqi prisoners being abused and humiliated by US soldiers until they were broadcast on national television and then across the globe carries little weight."

Arab News
Editorial, Saudi Arabia, May 6

"For all Mr Bush's sincerity in his televised regrets for the treatment meted out by US troops to Iraqi prisoners, [Wednesday's interview with Arab television] will convince almost no one in the Arab world that Washington has changed its ways. Even had he got down on his knees and howled apologies for the now notorious photos of abuse, no one would have believed him - and no one here does believe him. It is not the photos that are the problem. It is four years of corrosive Bush Middle East policies, coming on top of decades of US incompetence and missed opportunities."

Gulf News
Editorial, United Arab Emirates, May 7

"Something is very wrong in Washington when Mr Bush claims he has only just become aware of the gross cases of prisoner abuse in Iraq. General Richard Myers, the US chief of staff, knew [the television network] CBS had the pictures weeks ago. A highly critical report by Major General Antonio Taguba was submitted in March. Other senior military officials were fully aware of the problem in January ...

"Mr Bush's officials' failure to pass the issue up the chain quickly enough has now landed him into a major crisis, and rightly so. He deserves to take full responsibility for this outrage by American forces. He cannot claim to be the commander in chief when things are going well for him, and then sidestep responsibility when he is embarrassed."

Fayiz al-Sa'igh
Al-Thawrah, Syria, May 7

"Mr Bush cannot justify what cannot be justified, vindicate what cannot be vindicated, or apologise for something for which apology cannot be accepted ... [The torture scandal] is a war crime by any standard. It must not be forgotten or overtaken by more violent and more atrocious events. This is a crime for the champions of human rights in the whole world ... to examine. And above all, it calls for a European role in the face of 'the civilised monster' that expressed itself in Abu Ghraib prison."

Mike Whitney
Al-Jazeera, US, May 7

"The Bush administration [is in] full damage-control mode. That is evident by the fact Mr Bush made an appearance on Arab TV. Normally, he would never lower himself to express his concerns to the Muslim world. That is why his first statement was so carefully worded with the intention of avoiding any kind of apology. Real men don't apologise; especially not to Muslims. That changed [yesterday], however, as the pressure of negative public opinion forced the recalcitrant Mr Bush to say how sorry he was for the horrific abuse ... at Abu Ghraib.

"The next predictable phase ... is the calling for an independent investigation. As always, this will involve 'hand-picked' party loyalists who will obfuscate the facts and spread the administration's message that they never knew what was going on."

Gulf Times
Editorial, Qatar, May 6/7

"If the president imagined that [Wednesday's] interview would repair the credibility of his administration he was overly optimistic. His speech might have worked had the torture at Abu Ghraib been the sole source of offence. But for more than three years, starting even before September 2001 the US has adopted an unfriendly and aggressive stance towards Arabs and Muslims ...

"Despite the Pentagon persuading CBS to delay airing the torture report for two weeks, neither Mr Bush nor Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, knew what was going on. Now Mr Bush has found out, there will be an inquiry and punishments will be inflicted. Just don't blame Mr Bush and his coterie."

[Ropegun]

"True, the president said the pictures of abused and tortured Iraqi prisoners are abhorrent and do not reflect the America that he knows. Yet, by admitting that he had ordered an investigation into the abuse of Iraqi and Afghan prisoners as far back as January, his argument that he had not personally been aware of the photographs of Iraqi prisoners being abused and humiliated by US soldiers until they were broadcast on national television and then across the globe carries little weight."

Thats because Bush Is a bald-faced liar. Plain and simple. This guy has rarely told the truth since he stole the office. I can't imagine that hed start telling the truth after this fiasco.

Rumsfeld is no better. He fed people such b.s. yesterday it was ridiculous. And senators from both parties let him off the hook by not pressing the issues of who knew what and when.

John McCain had him backpedaling and then just stopped asking questions. Why did he stop? Someone please tell me why. I know it's rhetorical but I want someone else to say it. So please, chime in anyone.

This whole thing is a farce. The lowest people in the chain of command will take the fall for this, not that they're not guilty as hell, and the higher highers, as always, will walk away. Karpinsky should be in Leavenworth Prison, along with Rumsfeld, And all the rest of the people involved in this.

I hate having been in the military now. I'm just about ready to renounce my own citizenship i'm so bloody angry.


Enough ranting.

Peace.