Hussein photographs spark military inquiry

WASHINGTON -- A British and an American newspaper published a full-page photograph yesterday of Saddam Hussein in his underwear and other pictures of him in his jail cell, sparking a US military inquiry and allegations from human rights advocates that the humiliating photos violate Geneva Conventions guidelines on the treatment of prisoners of war.

The most prominent picture, splashed on the front pages of The Sun of London and the New York Post, both owned by Rupert Murdoch, depicts the weary-looking deposed dictator standing in white briefs. In other photographs on inside pages, the newspapers show Hussein washing his pants and sleeping. ''Butcher of Sagdad," the Post blared, referring to the 68-year-old Hussein's physique.

The Sun said in a news story accompanying the photos that they were provided by a US military official they did not identify who hoped that publication of the pictures would deal a blow to the insurgency in Iraq by showing the once-feared Hussein as a powerless figure.

The release of the photos also provoked concerns about stirring fresh anti-American sentiment in the Arab world, where riots erupted last week over a Newsweek report, since retracted, about the desecration of the Koran at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A year ago, photos of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq prompted international outrage.

Some Arab satellite networks, including Al-Arabiya, showed the front page of The Sun. The Al- Jazeera network declined to show the pictures, citing ''professional and moral reasons."

Taking and disseminating the photographs of Hussein ''was absolutely counterproductive," said Abdel Bari Atwan, editor in chief of the Arabic newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi based in London. ''People really feel humiliated about these pictures. It is extremely degrading." Atwan said he believed the photographs would motivate, rather than demoralize, Iraqi insurgents.

But President Bush said he did not think the photographs would aggravate the insurgency.

''I don't think a photo inspires murderers," Bush said. ''These people are motivated by a vision of the world that is backward and barbaric."

Trent Duffy, the White House spokesman, said Bush ''strongly supports the aggressive and thorough investigation that is already underway" by the military.

''These photos were wrong," Duffy said. ''They're in clear violation of [Department of Defense] directives and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals."

''I think this could have serious impact," Duffy said, coming after revelations on prisoner abuse. ''The president wants to get to the bottom of this," he added.

The military announced that it would investigate who took and distributed the photographs, which the Pentagon said at the very least violated military standards for treatment of prisoners if it is found that a US soldier was responsible. Human rights lawyers also warned that the photographs of the former dictator could carry serious implications for international law.

Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention says prisoners of war should be protected against insults and public curiosity.

Americans might chuckle at demeaning pictures of such an unsympathetic character, said Dinah PoKempner, general counsel for the Human Rights Watch based in New York. But the dissemination of the photos is a clear violation of the conventions, she said.

Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said US commanders in Iraq believe the photos were taken more than a year ago, although he did not specify what evidence led to that conclusion.

That timing could be important on whether the conventions apply in this instance, since the US military -- while still involved in the incarceration of Hussein -- remanded Hussein to Iraqi custody on June 30, 2004. If Hussein was now defined as a domestic prisoner, and not a prisoner of war, the Geneva Conventions might not apply, US officials said.

Even if Hussein was technically under Iraqi custody, the violation is still serious, Whitman said.

''We still continue to respect the standards of the Geneva Conventions," he said. ''We regret that somebody who was responsible for the care, custody, and control of Saddam has taken these photos and released them publicly."

The managing editor of The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling tabloid, defended the paper's decision to publish the photos.

''They are a fantastic, iconic set of news pictures that I defy any newspaper, magazine, or television station who were presented with them not to have published," Graham Dudman said in remarks to Britain's Press Association. ''He's not been mistreated. He's washing his trousers. This is the modern-day Adolf Hitler. Please don't ask us to feel sorry for him."

Hussein was captured in December 2003 and is awaiting trial for war crimes. He is being held at an undisclosed location.

The photographs convey a powerful message, reducing Hussein from his role as Iraqi strongman to a pathetic-looking, defanged leader engaged in the same mundane tasks as the impoverished Iraqis he once ruled, said Jerrold Post, director of the political psychology program at George Washington University.

''Part of the issue with very powerful leaders is that mystique, that sense of awe they get," Post said. Iraqi calendars during Hussein's rule showed the dictator as a sportsman, a statesman, or a protector of children and mothers.

On the streets in Baghdad, Iraqis were split between those who felt the photos impugned Hussein's dignity and those whose rage toward the former dictator eclipsed any sympathy for his public humiliation.

''I'm really happy to see the pictures because he hurt the Iraqi people," said Daniya Shami, 27, a Sunni Arab. ''Now I'm ready to cut him to pieces myself."

''I'm an Iraqi citizen before anything else, and I don't like to see an Iraqi president treated this way," said Suad Mohammed, 52, a teacher. ''Saddam is a criminal, but like anyone else, he has his bad and good points. These pictures are insults for all Arabs."

Susan Milligan reported from Washington, and Thanassis Cambanis reported from Baghdad. Rick Klein of the Globe staff contributed to this report from Washington, and correspondent Sarah Liebowitz contributed from London.