Powell: I assure President Mubarak, Arab peoples situation in Iraq will improve after authority transfer

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he is shocked at the violence and abuses committed by some American soldiers against the prisoners of Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.

Interviewed by CNN anchor Lary King, Powell said all through his career in the military, as he served twice in Vietnam, he did not ever see such "despicable acts" like this, even during the Vitenam war.

Powell said: "President Mubarak is a good friend of the United States," adding that "We are going through a rough spot right now. People are looking at our actions in Iraq, and in some cases in the Arab world, they don't understand them.

"I think they will begin to understand them when we transfer sovereignty back to an interim government at the end of next month, when they see Iraqi faces again in charge, and Iraqis responsible for their own destiny," Powell added.