US President George W. Bush today said only a small number of US soldiers deployed in Iraq took part in abusing prisoners, as pressure increased on Washington due to the scandal.
“In recent days, America and the world have learned of shocking conduct in Iraqi prisons by a small number of American servicemen and women,” he said in his weekly radio address.
The president said such practices did not reflect American values and were “a stain on our country’s honour and reputation”.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress yesterday of additional photos of abuse from Abu Ghraib that were even more “blatantly sadistic” than those recently made public.
He offered his “deepest” apologies to the prisoners and their families.
The US will still hand over authority to Iraqis on June 30!
