White House and Pentagon officials
condemned the release of candid photographs of former Iraqi president
Saddam Hussein while in U.S. military custody, launching an
investigation yesterday after a British tabloid published on its front
page a picture of the deposed leader in underwear.
The
Sun newspaper in London ran three pages of photos yesterday, including
the full-color front-page photograph of a shirtless Hussein in white
briefs. In other photos, Hussein is shown washing socks and napping at
an unidentified detention facility, which is reportedly near Baghdad
International Airport. The New York Post, owned by the same publishing
company, also ran the photographs yesterday.
"It's troubling and unfortunate that
these pictures were made public, and it's certainly contrary to what
our policies and procedures are," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon
spokesman. "That's why we're taking a hard look at what happened, and
we'll look to hold someone accountable."
The
international publication of the photographs comes at a particularly
sensitive time for the U.S. government abroad. Violent protests raged
in several Muslim countries in the past week after a Newsweek article
-- since retracted by the magazine -- said military officials had
confirmed allegations that U.S. interrogators had desecrated the Koran
at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. And for the past year
the Bush administration has confronted anger and suspicion created by
release of photographs showing humiliation and abuse of detainees at
Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and by subsequent allegations of prisoner
mistreatment.
Hussein's defense team expressed
outrage over the photographs. Lawyer Ziad Khasawneh told Reuters news
service the release violates "human dignity." "We must sue the people
responsible and the providers of these pictures, because if you look
closely you can see that they were taken from his prison cell,"
Khasawneh said in Amman, Jordan.
Radwan Masmoudi,
president of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy in
Washington, said yesterday that the mere appearance of Hussein in
underwear may be an affront to many Muslims who believe that the body
is sacred.
"To show someone partially or almost
naked is a kind of insult to Muslim sensibilities," Masmoudi said.
"Arabs will feel it is an insult, ihana in Arabic, which means degrading, to all Arabs. Why are they treating him this way?"
Amnesty
International had previously raised concerns about the release of video
images of Hussein receiving medical treatment shortly after his capture
in December 2003, and spokesman Alistair Hodgett said yesterday that
the photographs will again make it harder to advocate for humane
treatment worldwide.
"We have long voiced our
concern about the ripple effect of either confirmed U.S. disregard for
international standards or the apparent disregard of international
standards," Hodgett said. "Obviously an investigation will find whether
this was an unsanctioned release or something else. But it is one
further incident that harms the ability of the U.S. to get others to
abide by these long-standing international protections."
The
Sun said that it had obtained the photographs from an unnamed member of
the U.S. military who was quoted as saying that the photographs were
intended to show insurgents that Hussein is no longer a legendary
dictator and is instead "just an aging and humble old man."
Masmoudi
said that because much of the insurgency in Iraq is made up of
Baathists and former members of Hussein's government, the photos of
their leader in a humiliating scene could encourage their attacks
against Americans and the Iraqis working with them.
President
Bush told reporters yesterday that he does not think the release of the
photographs specifically will incite insurgents to action. "I don't
think a photo inspires murderers," he said. "I think they are inspired
by an ideology."
White House spokesman Trent Duffy
said Bush "strongly supports the aggressive and thorough investigation
that is already underway."
"These photos were
wrong," Duffy said. "They're in clear violation of DOD directives and
possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the human treatment of
detained individuals. And the multinational forces in Iraq, as well as
the president, are very disappointed at the possibility that someone
responsible for the security, welfare and detention of Saddam Hussein
would take and provide these photos for public release."
The
Geneva Conventions seek to maintain dignity for prisoners of war by
barring captors from exposing them to public curiosity. Pentagon
officials said they no longer consider the former leader an enemy
prisoner of war because he is technically in Iraqi custody, but they
said the release of the photographs violated Defense Department
standards in any case.
Hussein and top figures of
his government have been charged with crimes against humanity and are
being held at an undisclosed location, believed to be a high-security
U.S.-run facility near Baghdad's airport. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim
Jafari has said he expects an Iraqi tribunal to try Hussein within the
year. Hussein's government was alleged to videotape and photograph
abuse of detainees to intimidate them and their families.
According
to military spokesmen in Baghdad and Pentagon officials in Washington,
the photos published yesterday are believed to have been taken about a
year ago, when Hussein was held in a small plywood cell with a chair
and a desk. The background in the photographs has helped investigators
narrow down the time frame, and Lt. Col. Steven A. Boylan, a military
spokesman in Iraq, said they are looking at the possibility that one or
more of Hussein's jailers is responsible.
Military
officials said it is possible that someone created still images from
round-the-clock surveillance cameras that monitor Hussein while he is
in custody. In the images, it appears that Hussein was not aware he was
being photographed. Another possibility is that someone surreptitiously
used a small still or video camera, officials said.
Knickmeyer
reported from Baghdad. Correspondent Glenn Frankel in London and staff
writer Robin Wright in Washington contributed to this report.
