WASHINGTON, May 5: US President George W. Bush acknowledged on Wednesday that incidents of torture in Iraq were not just allegations, but 'actual abuse' and promised to bring those responsible to justice.
In two separate interviews to Al Arabiya and Al Hurra televisions, Mr Bush also acknowledged that US soldiers who tortured Iraqi prisoners disgraced American values and were 'abhorrent'.
"More than an allegation in this case, actual abuse, we saw the pictures," he told Al Arabiya when asked if it was enough to reprimand the soldiers involved rather than taking any action against them.
Promising a full inquiry, Mr Bush said: "The system will be transparent, it will be open and people will see the results. This is a serious matter. It's a matter that reflects badly on my country."
Asked what impact he thought the incidents would have on the people of the Middle East, he said: "Those who want to dislike America will use this as an excuse to remind people about their dislike."
When reminded that new abuses were reported on Wednesday as well, Mr Bush said he wanted to know the full extent of the US prison operations in Iraq so that the problem could be dealt with. "We want to make sure that if "there's a problem system-wide, that we stop the practices".
In separate comments, Secretary of State Colin Powell said US officials also were looking at practices in Afghanistan and the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In an another appearance on Al Hurra, a television network based in Virginia and funded by the US Congress, Mr Bush denounced the behaviour of soldiers who were photographed abusing Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Gharib prison.
"They're abhorrent abuses," he said. "The actions of these few people do not reflect the hearts of the American people." Mr Bush agreed to short interviews with Al Hurra and the Dubai-based Al Arabiya television in an attempt to control the damage done to America's image in the Arab and the Muslim worlds by the reported abuses.
"We want to know the truth," he told Al Hurra. "The people of the Middle East must be assured that we will investigate fully, that we will find out the truth. They will know the truth, just like the American citizens will know the truth, and justice will be served," he told Al Arabiya.
Mr Bush's appearance on Arab televisions came a day after the US army disclosed that it was conducting criminal investigations of 10 prisoners deaths in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus another 10 abuse cases.
The US president, however, made it clear that the United States would stay in Iraq for as long as it took to normalize the situation there. "The Iraqi citizens must understand America is not going to leave until the job is complete. We want to help Iraq," he told Al Arabiya. "We've made a commitment. And the United States will keep that commitment."
He disagreed with the suggestion that US actions in Iraq provided Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups with an excuse to enter that country. "Of course, Al Qaeda looks for any excuse. But the truth of the matter is, they hate us, and they hate freedom, and they hate people who embrace freedom," he said.
