Key Republicans have closed ranks behind embattled US Defence Secretary Donal Rumsfeld after his six-hour grilling by Congress yesterday afternoon.
Lynndie England, of the 372nd Military Police Company, who has been charged with abusing Iraqi prisoners
Mr Rumsfeld offered his "deepest apology" to Iraqi prisoners abused by sadistic military personnel and warned that videos and photos yet to come could further inflame worldwide outrage.
It emerged today that the female soldier seen in the horrific photographs in Abu Ghraib prison, private Lynndie England, had been charged by the military with assaulting the detainees and conspiring to mistreat them. Ms England (21) faces four allegations, according to a statement from the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"It's going to get a good deal more terrible, I'm afraid," Mr Rumsfeld said glumly in congressional testimony yesterday that was televised throughout the world.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said: "The American public needs to understand we're talking about rape and murder here. We're not just talking about giving people a humiliating experience." He did not elaborate. He said the Iraqis who were mistreated would receive compensation.
Donald Rumsfeld
Referring to photos of sexual and physical abuse that have drawn worldwide condemnation, Mr Rumsfeld warned there were "a lot more photographs and videos" that have not yet been seen.
"If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse," he said. He said he had not seen the videos and did not describe them.
A week after shocking photos appeared showing prisoners subjected to sexual humiliation, Mr Rumsfeld said the treatment was "inconsistent with the values of our nation. It was inconsistent with the teachings of the military ... and it was certainly fundamentally un-American".
"These events occurred on my watch. As secretary of defence, I am accountable for them. I take full responsibility."
Rumsfeld said he "would resign in a minute" if he thought he could not be effective. But he brushed aside Democratic calls to step down, saying: "I would not resign simply because people try to make a political issue out of it."
Senator Carl Levin, a Democract from Michigan, noted with "deep dismay" that Mr Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had briefed politicians about Iraq in a classified session last week, but did not mention the major story the government knew was about to break in the media.
Consultation with Congress "is not supposed to be an option but a long-standing and fundamental responsibility" of administration officials, Mr Levin told Mr Rumsfeld.
Still, key Republicans weighed in behind him after his testimony. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he wanted Mr Rumsfeld to stay, as did Senator John Warner from Virginia.
Republican Senator John McCain, while dissatisfied that Mr Rumsfeld "did
not know who was in charge" of the prison guards, said the secretary "manfully" apologised not only for the abuses but the Pentagon's failure to inform members of Congress sooner.
Another Republican Senator, Pat Roberts, said he was surprised by Mr Rumsfeld's statement that he had not seen the photographs of the prisoner abuse until Thursday night.
Asked if he thinks Mr Rumsfeld could remain in his job, Mr Roberts said, "He thinks so. The president thinks so. I guess that's what counts."
But Rumsfeld's acceptance of responsibility drew a tart response from Senator John Kerry, the Democratic challenger to Mr Bush. "The chain of command goes all the way to the Oval Office," said the Massachusetts senator. "Harry Truman did not say, 'The buck stops at the Pentagon'."