Rumsfeld's 'apology' without regrets

The atrocities that occurred at Abu Ghraib were either part of a strategy devised to break down resistance and collect intelligence or were the result of poor training, negligence, and oversight on the part of the US military top brass.

Either way, the responsibility for the horrors that were perpetrated at Abu Ghraib lies with the Secretary of Defense. Ironically, while Rumsfeld has called it a 'wrong' done, and admitted that the ultimate responsibility was his, he has refused to resign his post in the same breath.

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He seems to believe that as long as he is capable of doing his job effectively, he should stay. But this misses the point. The point is that if he was at fault, then he should resign.

President Clinton's first Secretary of Defense Les Aspin resigned in 1993 after the US lost eighteen soldiers in a fire-fight in Mogadishu, a failure that pales in comparison with the current crisis.

President Bush has said -- albeit belatedly -- that he is sorry for the abuse at Abu Ghraib, as has Rumsfeld. But the US leadership needs to do more than that to demonstrate that it really is sorry and that it takes what happened seriously. If President Bush permits Secretary Rumsfeld to remain in his position, it will be just the latest in a long line of administration missteps in Iraq. Moreover, those who meted out ignoble mistreatment to the helpless Iraqi detainees should be tried and punished in an exemplary fashion.