| Two more prisoner deaths { May 5 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/05/05/two_more_deaths_made_public_as_bush_talks_on_arab_tv?mode=PFhttp://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/05/05/two_more_deaths_made_public_as_bush_talks_on_arab_tv?mode=PF
Two more deaths made public as Bush talks on Arab TV By John J. Lumpkin, Associated Press | May 5, 2004
WASHINGTON --The number of prisoner deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan known to be under U.S. investigation or already blamed on Americans rose to 14 on Wednesday, including two additional deaths being scrutinized by the CIA's inspector general. President Bush told Arab television the treatment of Iraqi prisoners was "abhorrent," but stopped short of apologizing.
Bush appeared on Arab television the day after the Army disclosed that it is conducting criminal investigations of 10 prisoner deaths in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus another 10 abuse cases.
In addition, the deaths of two Iraqi prisoners already have been ruled homicides, the Army said Tuesday. In one case, a soldier was court-martialed, reduced in rank and discharged from the Army. In the other case, a CIA contract interrogator's conduct has been referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution, the Army said.
Meanwhile, an intelligence official said Wednesday that the CIA inspector general is investigating two other deaths involving CIA interrogators. One took place at an Afghan prison near the Pakistan border in June 2003 and involved an independent contractor working for the CIA. The other death occurred at another, unspecified location in Iraq and involved a CIA interrogator, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
That means that in total, U.S. officials have acknowledged two prisoner deaths they consider to be homicides, and have ongoing investigations into another 12 deaths.
Senior military officials braced for broader investigations. "I expect that as these investigations track down all the possible leads that there will be more things that will need to be looked at very, very carefully," Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday in an appearance on CBS' "The Early Show."
"As they chase the various elements, more people come forward with bits and pieces they think they might have and that leads you to look at other things," Pace said. "So there will be more investigations. Where that will lead I don't know."
Other administration officials tried to assure the American public and the world that the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad was an aberration, and that guilty parties would be dealt with swiftly and firmly. They listed a host of investigations under way, as members of Congress called for their own probe.
Bush, in his appearance, said the treatment of Iraqi prisoners that has come to light does not represent "the America that I know."
In the first of two planned interviews, the president did not specifically apologize for the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad.
But, he said, "The actions of these few people do not reflect the hearts of the American people."
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld did not directly apologize for the abuses in a Wednesday appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," but said, "Any American who sees the photographs that we've seen has to be feel apologetic to the Iraqi people who have been abused and recognize that that is something that is unacceptable."
He said it is too early to say whether financial compensation might be provided to abused prisoners, but he noted that "from time to time various types of compensation and assistance have been provided to Iraqis whose circumstances were altered unfairly."
© Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
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