"This Does Not Represent the America I Know"

In interviews given to two Arab television stations, US President Bush has called the abuse of Iraqi prison inmates by US troops "abhorrent". Bush promised that those responsible for the abuses would be brought to justice but he stopped short of apologising. In the Arab world, distrust remains.

Mr Bush was trying to calm anger over shocking photographs, first broadcast on US television, which showed Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison, just west of Baghdad, stripped naked and sexually humiliated by their guards.

George Bush gave two interviews to two different Arab TV channels; one to Arabiya, the popular Dubai-based station and the other to Al-Hurra, a US-government funded Arabic-language station largely seen in the Middle East as propaganda.

The US president's intention in both interviews was clear. He wanted to distance the United States and its government from the actions of a few of its soldiers.

A different kind of America

"They must understand that what took place in that prison does not represent the America that I know,"said Bush. "The America I know is a compassionate country that believes in freedom. The America I know cares about every individual. The America I know has sent troops into Iraq to promote freedom, good honourable citizens that are helping Iraqis everyday."

The US president pledged that soldiers who murdered and abused Iraqi prisoners would be punished.

A week ago pictures were aired on US television of grinning American soldiers abusing naked Iraqis at a prison once used by Saddam Hussein's torturers.

On Wednesday hundreds marched outside the heavily guarded walls of the Abu Ghraib prison demanding the release of relatives. 4,000 Iraqis are held there.

Mr Bush has ordered an investigation into US-run prison systems in Iraq and Afghanistan to determine how widespread such abuse is.

"People were waiting for an apology"

According to the Middle East correspondent for German Public Radio, Bjorn Blaschke, who is based in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Mr. Bush's promises of actions will not be enough. What people in the region were waiting for was an apology from the commander in chief of the United States' armed forces.

"They are astonished that there was no apology, only a lesson on democracy", said Blaschke.

President Bush has been one of the least media-friendly US leaders in history. He rarely talks to the press. Whenever he does give interviews, it is seen as a sign that his administration wants to deal forcefully with an issue.

Many Arabs still distrustful of US intentions

Bush's message to the Arab world was going to be a hard sell and many watching said his words did little to change their opinions.

In Baghdad one taxi driver summed up the views of most Iraqis by saying his people had hoped for much from the US and Bush but they had not seen anything.

55-year-old Mouwaffaq Fadhill said Bush had a whole year to fulfil his promised about bringing freedom and democracy in Iraq. "He failed and now we are hearing the same promises."

In Saudi Arabia, Bush's televised interviews drew little notice in the holy city of Medina. The broadcast was aired close to prayer time. One teacher told media that he'd rather spend some quality time in front of God than to listen to Bush.

In Egypt, opinion was canvassed among local unions and the business sector.

Soccer is more important

In a meeting room of a lawyers' union in Cairo, people were clamouring instead to watch a soccer match.

Only two lawyers watched Bush's address after which they said there was little difference between Bush's statements and explanations given by Arab governments when under pressure.

Some Jordanians who watched President Bush on television said the US has done too much damage to its image for his words to mean much.

Journalist Jomana Karadesh says she found a great deal of anger over the broadcast. "What they really thought is, why didn't he appear on Al-Jazeera. He chose Al-Hurra which is considered to be an American network, and it does not have much of an audience in the Arab world."

United States military officials have said that in all, they are investigating 14 prisoner deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as 10 abuse cases.

There have been isolated calls in the United States for US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld to take responsibility for the scandal and resign – calls which the White House has flatly dismissed.