New images emerge of Abu Ghraib abuse

WASHINGTON – New photos emerged Wednesday of U.S. soldiers abusing and humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003, and Bush administration officials warned that they could add to Muslim anger at the United States.

The previously unpublished images were first broadcast by the Australian Special Broadcasting Service’s “Dateline” program and were quickly picked up by other media organizations.

The photos show U.S. soldiers using dogs to menace hooded male prisoners and naked prisoners handcuffed together or to beds and other objects. Some of the men appear to have cigarette burns on their arms and buttocks. In one photo, five naked men are stacked in a human pyramid.

The photos were among hundreds taken by soldiers at the Baghdad prison in 2003 showing prisoner abuse and torture. The first of the photos surfaced in 2004. According to the Australian program, the latest photos are part of 70 unreleased images and videos that the Bush administration has tried to withhold from the public.

The release of the photos came amid protests by Muslims around the world over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad and a London newspaper’s publication of photos showing British soldiers beating Iraqi prisoners.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the Abu Ghraib images “could only further inflame and possibly incite unnecessary violence in the world” and endanger U.S. troops.

“The abuses at Abu Ghraib have been fully investigated,” Whitman said. “As you know, it’s been the policy of this department – it has been and continues to be – that all detainees in our custody will be treated humanely.”