For Immediate Release
May 5, 2004

Global Message

From remarks by NSA Rice in an interview with Al Arabiya television, 5/3/04

The U.S. government is deeply sorry for what has happened to some Abu Ghraib prisoners.

People worldwide should be assured that President Bush is determined to learn the full truth of the prisoner torture reports in Iraq.

President Bush is determined to learn if there is a wider problem than what happened at Abu Ghraib. He has told Defense Secretary Rumsfeld that he expects an investigation and a full accounting of the situation. Responsible parties will be punished.

General Miller is assuming command over the administration of Iraqi prisons. He will make certain that America can be proud of the operations.

One good thing about democracies is that when something like this happens, democracies themselves react. The American people are reacting. The American Congress is reacting. The American President is reacting. No American wants to be associated with any dehumanizations of the Iraqi people.

People must be incarcerated if they've done something wrong, but they should be treated with dignity.