Bush backs Rumsfeld - and finally says sorry

US President George W Bush yesterday said that Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld “will stay in my Cabinet” despite calls for his resignation by Democrats in the wake of the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of American captors.

“Secretary Rumsfeld has served our nation well. [He] has been the secretary during two wars, and he is an important part of my Cabinet.”

Mr Bush’s unambiguous endorsement came as Mr Rumsfeld was preparing for what promises to be two contentious sessions with congressional committees today. OK

Appearing with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Bush told reporters he had chastised Mr Rumsfeld in a private meeting earlier this week for failing to have told him about the abusive treatment of prisoners before it became public knowledge.

Mr Bush coupled his remarks with his first outright apology for the mistreatment suffered by Iraqis at the hands of Americans.

He apologised, saying the scenes of mistreatment had made Americans “sick to our stomachs.”

A day after his appearance on two Arabic TV stations had failed to appease public opinion in the Middle East due to his failure to actually apologise, he now sought to redress the situation.

“I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families.

“I told [King Abdullah] I was as equally sorry that people seeing those pictures didn’t understand the true nature and heart of America,” he said, standing in alongside King Abdullah.

Mr Bush’s statement went beyond his comment on Wednesday that the abuse of prisoners was “abhorrent” and “does not represent the America that I know.”

For his part, the king said, “We’re all horrified by the images” of torture and abuse.

He said he was confident that American investigations would find the guilty parties. The abuse by some soldiers “doesn’t reflect the morals and values” of the United States, King Abdullah said.

Mr Bush spoke as his administration sought to counter a worldwide wave of revulsion over photographs showing Iraqi prisoners, some of them hooded, naked and in sexually humiliating poses, in an American-run prison in the Baghdad area.

Some of the images show American captors posing and gloating amid the misery of the Iraqis.

One, published yesterday on the front page of The Washington Post, showed a naked man on the ground, with a leash around his neck; the other end of which was in the hand of a female American GI.

For the second straight day, Mr Bush vowed that those responsible would be brought to justice.

On that, Mr Bush drew no dissent, but a growing list of Democrats in Congress said Mr Rumsfeld should resign, be fired, or even impeached.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters she believes Mr Rumsfeld must go. And Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, issued a statement saying that “For the good of our country, the safety of our troops, and our image around the globe, Secretary Rumsfeld should resign. If he does not resign forthwith, the president should fire him.”

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting, also jabbed at Mr Bush on the issue. In an appearance in California, Mr Kerry said: “As president I will not be the last to know what is going on in my command. I will demand accountability for those who serve, and I will take responsibility for their actions.

“And I will do everything that I can in my power to repair the damage that this has caused to America’s standing in the world and to the ideals for which we stand.”