Outcry grows over abuse of prisoners

Congressional pressure grew yesterday on the Pentagon to press for a “credible” investigation into the abuse of prisoners of war in Iraq.

“I don’t in any way underestimate the damage,” said Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican. “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Delaware Democrat, called the photographs and the abuse depicted “the single most significant undermining act that’s occurred in a decade in that region of the world in terms of our standing.”

Sen. Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat, said the incident should be investigated at every level of the military before the political situation worsens.

“These are despicable practices, which just fuel the hatred and the wrath of those who oppose us. And they’ve got to be investigated promptly at all levels,” Mr. Levin said on CNN’s “Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer.”

“And it’s got to be credible, that investigation, because the people in the world must understand that when this kind of action is perpetrated by an American soldier, that it’s not going to be tolerated,” Mr. Levin said.

On the same show, former Democratic presidential contender Sen. John Edwards said the incident “sends exactly the wrong signal.”

“It says to the Arab world exactly the opposite of the message we want to be sending. You know — that we want to provide you with the opportunity to have democracy, to rule yourself, to have freedom,” the North Carolina Democrat said. “Instead, what they’re seeing are these photographs over and over and over.”

A theaterwide investigation on the condition and handling of all detainees was initiated after photographs surfaced showing detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad being mistreated, said Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during appearances on several Sunday political talk shows.

Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, commander of the 800th Brigade, has been suspended, and six members of the police brigade are under a criminal investigation, with one having been recommended for court-martial.

Mr. Biden told “Fox News Sunday” that President Bush must demonstrate his indignation and anger because of the “phenomenal damage this accusation has caused in that part of the world.”

Mr. Bush said Friday he was deeply “disgusted” by the incidents and said the soldiers shown in the photographs do not reflect the nature of the U.S. military or the American people.

“That’s not the way we do things in America. And so I, I didn’t like it one bit,” Mr. Bush said.

Dan Senor, Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman, also told CNN that the incidents are offensive to Americans and Iraqis and will have lasting effects.

“Careers are going to be ended,” Mr. Senor said. “Criminal charges are going to be leveled. But let’s not express frustration with the entire military in the process. ”

Mr. McCain said it will take time to repair the “incredible damage this situation has caused,” which he said can be “counterbalanced by the millions of acts of kindness and generosity and sacrifices that American soldiers have made in Iraq for the Iraqi people.”

Mr. Edwards said the incident “is also damaging to … our own troops, the thousands and thousands of men and women who put their lives on the line in Iraq and who are good, able, brave people.”

Meanwhile, Gen. Myers said that there is no evidence prisoners of war are being systematically abused by U.S. soldiers and that the actions in the widely shown photographs appear to be an isolated incident.

“I’m appalled by the actions of those few,” he told ABC’s “This Week.” “That is not how the American military acts or should act. And it’s really a shame that just a handful can besmirch maybe the reputations of hundreds of thousands of our soldiers and sailors, airmen and Marines who’ve been over there.”

Mr. McCain, a Vietnam prisoner of war, also appeared on ABC and agreed that the incident is an anomaly.

“I have known thousands and thousands of members of the United States Army for many, many years. I know, I am convinced, that this is a very small minority. The men and women who serve honorably are as angered and as appalled as all of us are,” Mr. McCain said.

“Like every American, I was appalled and angered and disgusted. I rapidly ran out of adverbs and adjectives,” Mr. McCain said.

Gen. Myers said that the photos were turned over by soldiers concerned about the activity and that the investigation also includes whether Army intelligence officials pressured soldiers as has been charged.

“The one thing you can be assured of, though, if there is any maltreatment of soldiers or detainees in any way, we’ll deal with it,” Gen. Myers said. “You look at the pictures, you know this is not something that anybody would condone, no matter what your interrogation objectives were.”

A report issued in February by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba said there was “sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses” of Iraqi prisoners who also were beaten and sodomized.

Questioned on Fox, ABC and CBS about the report, Gen. Myers said he had not seen it and refused to comment.

“I don’t know about this report. I don’t know about the reporting, and I’m not going to comment on it until I have a chance to read it and see what the context is. It can often — these kind of — this sort of reporting can often be very, very wrong,” Gen. Myers said on ABC.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said he has “total confidence” that military commanders will prosecute American soldiers if charges are warranted.

“Misbehavior within the American military, there’s a procedure for handling it. We have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior,” Mr. McConnell said on “Fox News Sunday.”