UNITED NATIONS, May 27: Former US vice president Al Gore on Wednesday called for the resignations of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and CIA director George Tenet.

In a speech at the New York University, Mr Gore said the situation in Iraq was a consequence of the Bush administration's "twisted values and atrocious policies". "Donald Rumsfeld ought to resign immediately," Mr Gore said. "Our nation is at risk every single day Rumsfeld remains Secretary of Defence. We need someone with good judgment and common sense."

He said Mr Rumsfeld had mishandled the coordination of national security policy. "This is a disaster for our country." Mr Gore said the Abu Ghraib scandal was not the product of individual misdeeds.

"What happened at that prison, it is now clear, is not the result of random acts of a few bad apples. It was the natural consequence of the Bush administration's policy."

"How dare they subject us to such dishonour and disgrace! How dare they drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud of Saddam Hussein's torture prison!" Mr Gore said.

Mr Gore, a contender for the White House in 2000, said the problems in Iraq had engendered fierce anti-American sentiment around the world and provided a strong recruiting tool for terror groups.