Bush says he's sorry for abuse
WASHINGTON -- President Bush said yesterday he was sorry about the abuse of US-held prisoners in Iraq, adding that the shocking images of Iraqis suffering "humiliation" at the hands of male and female American soldiers "made us sick to our stomachs."
At an appearance in the White House's Rose Garden with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Bush stopped short of taking responsibility for the episodes of abuse, but the president's comments were the closest he has come to a full apology since the photos were first aired April 28.
"I told him I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by the Iraqi prisoners, and the humiliation suffered by their families. I told him I was equally sorry that people who have been seeing those pictures didn't understand the true nature and heart of America," Bush said after a private meeting with Abdullah.
Bush also expressed support for Donald H. Rumsfeld, whom Bush called "a really good secretary of defense," and said the embattled Pentagon official would "stay in my Cabinet" despite a chorus of Democratic voices calling for his resignation.
Abdullah had delayed his meeting with Bush, originally scheduled for April 21, days after Bush's comments supporting Israel's retention of some West Bank settlements in a future peace deal with the Palestinians. Yesterday, Bush declined to repeat the assurances that he had given Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, emphasizing instead that the border between Israel and a future Palestinian state would be negotiated and that the United States would "not prejudice the outcome of those negotiations."
Bush met with the Jordanian monarch amid outrage in the Arab world also over the photographs of abuses at the coalition-run Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad -- a facility where inmates were tortured under Saddam Hussein's regime. Yesterday, The
"The acts were abhorrent," Bush said. "Any decent soul doesn't want a human being treated that way."
Bush's comments seemed directed at mollifying tensions between the United States and the Arab world, especially Jordan, a US ally and moderate Arab state. A State Department official said the administration hoped the meeting would show that "there was concordance between us and the Jordanians on a whole variety of issues. It's not like the whole Arab world is against us," the official said.
Critics called Bush's remarks too little, too late, and said they would do little more than give Abdullah a parting political gift to take back to his home country.
"It's good for King Abdullah; it's important to King Abdullah. He probably has as much on the line here as anyone," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. "If Abdullah goes home with at least an apology in hand, that will be good for him."
Still, Bush's apology is not likely to appease Arab-Americans or Iraqis, who were underwhelmed by his comments Wednesday to two Arabic-language television networks, Zogby and others said.
"Any rational human being would have apologized and would have found out what was going on beforehand," said Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Newton, referring to Bush's comments that he had been unaware of the prison abuse until recently.
"If this hadn't been on '60 Minutes,' would we have known? Did they ever plan to make this public?" Frank said.
Peter Fenn, a Democratic consultant, said Bush was "left with no choice" but to issue some kind of apology to help repair relations with Iraqis and the Arab world. But he said he thought serious damage already had been done.
"This is a president who takes the credit for everything and the blame for nothing. He has long since taken 'the buck stops here' from his desk and thrown it in the trash can," Fenn said.
Republicans on Capitol Hill -- some of them clearly angry that they had not been told of the abuse until it was reported on television -- acknowledged Bush's expression of remorse, but said the United States would gain credibility only after fully investigating and prosecuting those who committed the abuse.
Senator George Allen, Republican of Virginia, called the episodes "aberrant behavior" that was not reflective of the performance of "99 percent of our men and women in uniform."
Bush was almost deferential to Abdullah yesterday, repeatedly calling him "Your Majesty" and saying "good job, good job" at the close of the brief question-and-answer period with the king.
Bush underscored his desire for peace in the Middle East and for Sharon's plan to withdraw settlements from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
"I remain committed to the vision I laid out here in the Rose Garden on June 24, 2002, of two states -- Israel and Palestine -- living side by side in peace and security, and to the establishment of a Palestinian state that is viable, contiguous, sovereign, and independent," Bush said.
He praised Abdullah's "suggestions" regarding Middle East policy, adding, "I appreciated your advice, Your Majesty."
But Bush made no mention of comments he made weeks ago in a news conference and in a letter to Sharon endorsing the retention of some settlements in the West Bank. Instead, Bush emphasized that any solution over the land would be negotiated "between the parties in accordance with UN Security Resolutions 242 and 338," which call for Israel to return land it captured in the 1967 Mideast war in exchange for peace.
John Quigley, a law professor at Ohio State University and author of "Palestine and Israel," said Bush's comments were part of a gradual "backtracking" the administration has conducted on the letter to Sharon. "They realize that they had been manipulated by Sharon into making a statement that made it seem like the US was setting the terms for a final status agreement and deal," Quigley said.
But Quigley said he did not think Bush's comments on Israel or the prison abuses would sway the Arab world.
