Abu Ghraib blame for US officials

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A US Senate report says former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and officials must share the blame for abuses at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prison.

Photos taken by US guards of abuse of Iraqis in Abu Ghraib came to light four years ago.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said top officials "passed the buck" to soldiers.

Eleven soldiers have been convicted of abusing inmates at Abu Ghraib. An aide to Mr Rumsfeld disputed the report.

The aide said the abuses were carried out by a small number of people, who had already been brought to justice.

Stripped

The images from Abu Ghraib showed prisoners facing dogs, being stripped naked and wired up as if being subjected to electric shocks.

They became a turning point of the Iraq war.

"Attempts by senior officials to pass the buck to low-ranking soldiers while avoiding any responsibility for abuses are unconscionable," said Mr Levin.

One of those who experienced the Abu Ghraib interrogation techniques was a 49-year-old farmer, who only wanted to be known by his prison number - 153913.

He was arrested during a raid on his house south of Baghdad in November 2003 and only released in May this year.

At the beginning of his captivity, he said he was stripped naked, subjected to cold showers, electric shock prods, and threats by dogs.

A fellow inmate, Imad Khudair, a 43-year-old metal worker and father of four, was held for nine months from September 2003. What happened in Abu Ghraib is very bad for America's reputation Imad KhudairEx-Abu Ghraib inmate

He was taken in with some of his brothers against whom the guards held mock executions.

"They stripped me naked for almost 15 days," he said.

"They tied me to a cell door. Then to a wall. Then two people held me from my hands and legs and they slammed me against the wall.

"That was time without hope. Then one day they called my number and I was told I was released.

"I started thinking of my wife and children and how I can start my life again."

Abu Ghraib has become one of the world's most notorious prisons, used for decades for torture under Saddam Hussein.

In the eyes of many Iraqis the cruelty continued under the Americans.

"I am very pleased to say that that is behind us now," said Iraq's National Security Adviser, Moffawaq al-Rubaie.

"Abu Ghraib is closed now and we are re-opening it with a completely new approach. It will be under Iraqi control with very well-trained prison wardens and police.

"So it is completely different now."

Mr Khudair and his fellow inmate both deny being insurgents or having any links with the insurgency.

Both were arrested in raids involving helicopters, armoured vehicles and soldiers.

"My children are terrified every time they see an American now," says Mr Khudair.

"We are peaceful people. What happened in Abu Ghraib is very bad for America's reputation."