United States Secretary of State Colin Powell has pressed Europe to overcome its differences on the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and rebuild the country, as the Pentagon revealed that elite US troops abused Iraqi prisoners with stun guns.
While US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday smoothed over scathing criticism from soldiers about their safety in Iraq, Japan bucked the trend of other US allies by extending its troop deployment in the country by 12 months.
Ahead of Thursday meetings at Nato headquarters in Brussels and talks on Friday with the Dutch presidency of the European Union, Powell said Washington and Europe must work together to respond to new threats and challenges.
“I know that some of [President George Bush’s] key decisions these last four years have been controversial in Europe, especially decisions that were made about Iraq,” he said in a Brussels speech.
“Whatever our differences about the past, about Iraq, we are now looking forward,” Powell said. “We are reaching out to Europe and we hope that Europe will reach out to us.”
In Washington, the Pentagon revealed that four US special-forces soldiers have been punished for unauthorised use of Taser electric stun guns on prisoners, after further allegations of US prisoner abuse were investigated.
Original revelations of humiliation and degradation meted out to Iraqi prisoners in US custody, which surfaced earlier this year, caused outrage across the world, not least among European opponents of the invasion.
The latest probe was conducted after Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) interrogators reported seeing prisoners with burns and bruises being brought to a temporary detention centre by members of a top-secret task force.
One interrogator said he saw a member of the task force punch a prisoner in the face to the point that he needed medical treatment, according to a June 25 2004 memo from DIA director Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby made public on Tuesday.
“Four individuals received administrative punishments for excessive use of force — it in particular was emphasised it was the unauthorised use of Tasers,” said Pentagon spokesperson Lawrence DiRita.
“Additionally, all four were reassigned to other responsibilities, and two were removed from the unit,” he said.
Otherwise, Rumsfeld put a positive spin on critical comments from US troops about their safety in Iraq, saying it is the duty of the top brass to listen.
Soldiers waiting in the Kuwaiti desert to enter Iraq challenged the hawkish secretary of defence on Wednesday in a tough question-and-answer session.
“I think it’s important that senior leadership meet with the troops, talk to them, answer their questions, listen to what they have to say,” Rumsfeld said in New Delhi.
Earlier, one of about 1Â 800 soldiers was loudly cheered as he told Rumsfeld that soldiers were “digging through landfills” to find scrap metal to bolster the hundreds of US trucks and other military vehicles that roll into Iraq.
“Our vehicles are not armoured,” he complained.
Camp Buehring is a major staging post for US troops heading to Iraq. But it has taken on greater importance as force levels are increased before the election and training has been stepped up because of the mounting insurgency.
The number of US military personnel killed in action since the March 2003 invasion stands at about 1Â 000.
Although persistent violence and political opposition have seen a number of European countries indicate plans to withdraw or reduce their troops in Iraq, Japan announced on Thursday that it will keep its troops in the country.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi extended the deployment to December 14 2005, saying it is his country’s “responsibility to help Iraqis rebuild their nation” after years of war.
About 550 Japanese troops are on a non-combat reconstruction mission in the southern town of Samawa — Japan’s first post-1945 mission to a combat zone.
On an official visit to Washington, interim Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar accused Syria of sheltering insurgents who are fomenting unrest in Iraq.
“I think we’re having insurgents coming from Syria,” Yawar told CNN television.
He said Iraqi officials suspect Syria is “offering them a safe haven and a shelter and they are operating from there”. — Sapa-AFP
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