US: The deputy director of the US military in Iraq said he was "appalled" by photographs showing US soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners saying they had "let their fellow soldiers down".
Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt added: "If we can't hold ourselves up as an example of how to treat people with dignity and respect, we can't ask that other nations do that to our soldiers."
US Gen Janice Karpinski has been suspended and six other soldiers charged after the abuse came to light. The soldiers, all members of the 800th Military Police Brigade based in Uniondale, New York, face court martial for dereliction of duty, cruelty and maltreatment, assault and indecent acts.
The military has also recommended disciplinary action against seven US officers who helped run the prison, including Gen Karpinski, the commander of the 800th Brigade.
The abuse came to light after a US soldier gave the photographs to a senior officer, according to Brig Gen Kimmitt.
Army Reserve Staff Sgt Chip Frederick, one of the accused soldiers, blamed army procedures for the abuse. "We had no support, no training whatsoever," he told CBS's Dan Rather by telephone from Iraq. In an e-mail to his family last year, Frederick said: "We've had a very high rate with our styles of getting them to break; they usually end up breaking within hours."
Several of the photographs show naked Iraqi men on top of one another. It is not clear if they are alive. One had the word "Rapist" written in English on his thigh. Two weeks ago when CBS got the pictures, the Pentagon asked 60 Minutes to delay showing them but the pictures began to circulate on the Internet on Wednesday.