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Rumsfeld warns about photos of worse abuses
ON THE HILL: Defense chief apologizes to Iraqi victims
- Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Saturday, May 8, 2004
Washington -- Embattled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress on Friday that he wouldn't rule out resigning and warned that yet-undisclosed images of Iraqi prisoner abuse containing what one lawmaker described as "rape and murder" might touch off a new furor.
In back-to-back appearances before the Senate and House Armed Services committees, the Pentagon chief apologized to the Iraqis who were abused at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison and said he wants them awarded financial compensation.
But Rumsfeld said the explosive abuse photos -- the ones disclosed so far -- haven't made it impossible for him to perform effectively as the administration's top military boss.
Rumsfeld's six hours of testimony, hastily arranged as the scandal deepened over the week, was seen as a key part of damage-control efforts by President Bush and the Pentagon.
It wasn't clear how much good Rumsfeld, a key architect of Bush's strategy in the war on terrorism and the bid to oust Saddam Hussein from Iraq, did himself in his marathon day on Capitol Hill.
"If I felt I could not be effective, I'd resign in a minute,'' Rumsfeld said in response to a question from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. But he took a swipe at top Democrats, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, who have called for him to quit, saying, "I would not resign just because people make a political issue of it.''
Later, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., asked Rumsfeld if he might resign "to demonstrate how seriously we take the situation -- and therefore help to undo some of the damage to our reputation?''
"It's possible,'' replied Rumsfeld, a 71-year-old veteran of 40 years of Washington's political and bureaucratic battles.
"I appreciate your candor,'' Bayh told Rumsfeld, who received Bush's backing this week even though the White House also leaked word that the president had given the secretary a private dressing-down for mishandling the Abu Ghraib affair.
Graham, speaking after Rumsfeld's Senate testimony, suggested that material in at least one tape held by Defense Department investigators could be by far the most-damaging yet to the U.S. military effort in Iraq and its prestige around the world.
"The American public needs to understand, we're talking about rape and murder here. We're not just talking about giving people a humiliating experience. We're talking about rape and murder and some very serious charges,'' Graham said to reporters. Graham said, however, he hadn't seen the videos that are part of the investigation into the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers and military contractors.
Rumsfeld, too, said that even more damaging evidence is likely to come.
"There are a lot more photographs and videos that exist. If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse."
The Pentagon won't release other photos or videos because officials said they are evidence in criminal investigations. So far, six military personnel have been charged in connection with the Abu Ghraib abuse. Six separate investigations are still under way, and Rumsfeld pledged that they will go wherever the evidence leads them, even to high-ranking officers. The investigations include allegations of homicide.
In Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had warned U.S. officials of prisoner abuse more than a year ago, soon after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The Red Cross said the mistreatment was systematic and in some cases was "tantamount to torture."
A contrite Rumsfeld, who has defended the Army's investigation of the Abu Ghraib incidents as quick and effective after a soldier first came forward on Jan. 13, admitted to both committees that he didn't realize how damaging the photos would be to the U.S. effort in Iraq. Rumsfeld said he hadn't seen the photos -- except those published in the media for the past week -- until Thursday night when he viewed a disk of those and other photos showing the abuse.
Rumsfeld, who appeared alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers and other Defense Department officials, also conceded that he and his command staff had made a mistake by failing to alert Congress before the photos appeared in the media.
"I failed to identify the catastrophic damage that the allegations of abuse could do to our operations in the theater, to the safety of our troops in the field, the cause to which we are committed,'' he said. "I failed to recognize how important it was to elevate a matter of such gravity to the highest levels, including leaders in Congress.''
Some members of Congress were particularly miffed because Rumsfeld briefed them about the situation in Iraq last Wednesday, just hours before CBS's "60 Minutes II" first broadcast pictures from the Abu Ghraib prison -- and didn't say a word about the coming broadcast.
Rumsfeld said he will name a four-person group to study the Pentagon's response to the Abu Ghraib cases and tell him if more probes are needed. After his testimony, he said former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, retired Air Force Gen. Charles Horner and former Rep. Tillie Fowler, R-Fla., thus far have agreed to serve.
Rumsfeld apologized, as Bush did on Thursday, for the prisoner abuse.
"To those Iraqis who were mistreated by members of U.S. armed forces, I offer my deepest apology,'' he said, adding that he is trying to figure out ways under existing law to "provide appropriate compensation to those detainees who suffered grievous and brutal abuse and cruelty at the hands of a few members of the U.S. military.''
"These events occurred on my watch. As secretary of defense, I am accountable for them. I take full responsibility," Rumsfeld said.
Bush was traveling in Iowa and Wisconsin on Friday, and the White House said he didn't watch any of the hearings, although his staff gave him updates.
The Senate hearing featured clashes between Rumsfeld and some senators, mainly Democrats, although Republicans Graham and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, also challenged him forcefully.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., questioned repeated claims by Pentagon officials that the behavior at Abu Ghraib was aberrant and not directed by higher-ups.
He referred to the 53-page summary of a report by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, who said military intelligence agents or interrogators working for private contractors had allegedly told soldiers to "loosen a guy up for us'' or to "make sure he gets the treatment.''
Rumsfeld contradicted Taguba, whose report was completed in March but not disclosed publicly until an article appeared a week ago in the New Yorker magazine.
"I can't conceive of anyone looking at the pictures and suggesting that anyone could have recommended, condoned, permitted, encouraged -- subtly, directly, in any way -- that those things take place,'' the secretary said.
The testimony didn't seem to change opinions.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., speaking after the Senate hearing, called on Bush to fire Rumsfeld. "I think we need a new beginning,'' Kennedy said.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., backed Rumsfeld. "It is a presidential decision, but in my judgment, Secretary Rumsfeld has measured up to his predecessors,'' said Warner.
Levin, the Senate panel's ranking Democrat, said there wouldn't be much point in Rumsfeld resigning.
"If I thought that his resignation would change the policies of this administration relative to Iraq, I'd be all for it,'' he said. "But I don't see that his resignation would change the policies of this administration.''
Rumsfeld was asked by Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I., how the United States could rebuild its credibility on international human rights.
"We get up the next day and go to do our jobs. ... Over time, truth wins out," Rumsfeld said. "America is not the evil society. America is not what's wrong with the world.
"We'll get by this, he concluded. "I don't like it any more than you do.''
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