United States President George Bush stood shoulder to shoulder with Donald Rumsfeld on Monday, refusing to fire him despite new signs that he could be losing the confidence of the armed forces.
The Army Times and other military newspapers read widely by the armed forces joined the chorus calling for the defence secretary’s dismissal over his handling of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, renewing speculation about Rumsfeld’s survival.
The president responded by amplifying his support, posing for pictures alongside Rumsfeld at the Pentagon in a display of administration solidarity.
Bush went to the Pentagon to view unpublished pictures of abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, and to discuss whether to publish them, as the administration struggled to cope with the damage the scandal has caused.
The White House agreed to allow members of Congress to view photographs and more than 20 video clips, which a senior defence official described as ”deeply disturbing” and portraying ”inappropriate sexual behaviour”. But the administration has insisted that the viewing be private and that the pictures remain classified.
In a statement to reporters, the president attempted to focus on Iraq’s future, insisting that the US would ”keep its word” by handing sovereignty to an Iraqi caretaker government by June 30.
But most importantly for the defence secretary, the president turned to him with forceful words of praise.
”You are courageously leading our nation in the war against terror. You’re doing a superb job. You are a strong secretary of defence, and our nation owes you a debt of gratitude.”
US central command in Baghdad has announced that public courts martial of military police charged with prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib will begin on May 19, with the trial of Specialist Jeremy Sivits.
But Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt in Baghdad hinted that cameras would not be allowed. ”It has not been our practice in the past to have cameras inside,” he said.
In a further attempt at damage limitation, the new commander of US prisons in Iraq said he would shortly be releasing at least 1 800 prisoners from Abu Ghraib. Major General Geoffrey Miller said he intended to reduce within 45 days the number of detainees inside the prison near Baghdad from 3 800 to between 1 500 and 2 000. Some 400 prisoners would be freed this week.
In Washington, Major General Antonio Taguba, who wrote a withering internal army report on conditions at Abu Ghraib, is to appear today at a public session of the Senate armed services committee.
The Army Times, an independent newspaper edited by civilians but read widely among US forces, published an editorial arguing: ”This was not just a failure of leadership at the local command level. This was a failure that ran straight to the top. Accountability here is essential — even if that means relieving top leaders from duty in a time of war.”
Many US newspapers have called for Rumsfeld to step down but the Army Times editorial represented a significant blow, as it often reflects opinion in the armed forces. On Friday the defence secretary told Congress he would ”resign in a minute” if he thought he could no longer be effective.
On the Army Times website on Monday, a soldier between tours of duty in Iraq, wrote: ”The fight now is with the Iraqi people, we have lost the initiative. With the photos of the PoW abuse every Iraqi has now become a possible combative, there are no more winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.
”So Mr Rumsfeld [is] apologising, spilling his heart out to the people and to the house, but it still won’t change a thing. The Iraqis hate us, they hate us more than ever. The longer we stay, the further we fall into a hole, a hole without a cause.”
Abu Ghraib detainees staged a demonstration on Monday, as the US military escorted journalists round the prison.
Detainees held up a banner that read: ”What are you going to do about this scandal?” They also unveiled T-shirts with the slogans: ”Why are we here?” and ”When are we going to be released?” and ”There is a lot hidden”.
It also emerged that the Pentagon is still employing civilian contractors at Abu Ghraib from the two private companies at the centre of the abuse scandal, CACI International and Titan. Nine CACI staff continue to work at the jail, three as interrogators and six as ”screeners”, according to General Miller. – Guardian Unlimited Â