Powell holds the military leadership responsible for Abu Ghreib scandal
Iraq-USA, Politics, 5/15/2004

The US secretary of State Colin Powell announced that the abuse operations against the Iraqi prisoners at the hands of the American occupation forces is a result of what he called a violation in the military leadership. But he explained that this does not means the US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld has to resign.

In an interview with the BBC yesterday, Powell stressed continued judicial investigations in the violations which took place in the Iraqi jails in order to punish persons responsible for them.

Powell admitted that publishing the pictures of the Iraqi detainees and the great deterioration in recent weeks in Iraq, greatly damaged the image of the US in the world, but considered on the other hand, that those who criticize the US have to understand the conditions the occupation forces had faced after the collapse of Saddam Hussein regime. He did not explain circumstances which necessitate the abusing of detainees.

However, the American statements seeking to improve the image of the US and belittle the volume of international and internal criticism. The UN secretary general Kofi Annan said that abusing and torturing the Iraqi prisoners caused a great damage in the Iraqi society.

In Washington, some 200 American activists who oppose the war on Iraq organized a sit in in front of the house of the US defense secretary. The demonstrators called on Rumsfeld to resign on the background of the scandal of the occupation practices in the Iraqi detention centers. They also called for the withdrawal of the American forces from Iraq.

Previous Stories:
  Rumsfeld in Abu Ghreib prison: Arab media publishes lies   (5/14/2004)
  Rumsfeld meets leaders of his forces in Baghdad, visits Abu Ghreib   (5/14/2004)
  Unidentified organization announces beheading of one American in Iraq   (5/13/2004)

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