Rumsfeld Takes Responsibility for Abuse

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) worried that the spate of new investigations would hold up the release of further evidence of abusive behavior. He urged "immediate and full disclosure of all relevant information."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voiced dismay at the failure of Pentagon officials to get ahead of the story by disclosing the full extent of the problems at Abu Ghraib and announce corrective actions.

"It would have been far better if you, Mr. Secretary, with all respect, had come forward and told the world about these pictures and of your personal determination -- a determination I know you have -- to set matters right and to hold those responsible accountable," she said.

"Well, Senator Collins, I wish I had done that," Rumsfeld replied.

Noting the calls for Rumsfeld's resignation, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) asked the Pentagon leader if he believed he could still carry out his duties "in a bipartisan manner."

"Well, it's a fair question," Rumsfeld replied, adding that he had given it "a lot of thought" lately.

"Needless to say, if I felt I could not be effective, I'd resign in a minute," he went on. "I would not resign simply because people try to make a political issue out of it."

Asked later if his resignation might show the world how seriously the United States viewed the abuse, he replied: "It's possible."

Rumsfeld vigorously defended the speed with which military commanders investigated the abuse at Abu Ghraib when first tipped off to them by a soldier in January. And he assured lawmakers that the investigation would not end with the 14 low- and mid-ranking military police charged or reprimanded so far.

But he underscored the limit on what he and other senior officials can find out about criminal investigations while they are in progress without risking accusations of command interference.

"There's a pattern of not reaching down into those things, bringing them up and looking at all the evidence before it ever arrives," Rumsfeld said.

In the Abu Ghraib case, he said the photographs had been in the custody of Army criminal investigators and no senior official at the Pentagon had seen them before they were publicized.

Appearing with Rumsfeld, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged trying to persuade CBS's "60 Minutes II" to stall broadcast of the photographs, even though he had not seen them at that point. He said he knew from descriptions by others that they contained images of mistreatment.

In a testy exchange, Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) accused Myers of trying to "suppress" the news. Myers said his focus had been on avoiding a disclosure that could further inflame the situation in Iraq and endanger the lives of U.S. troops. "We could have done a better job of informing Congress," Myers acknowledged.