The US President Mr George W Bush promised the Arab world this afternoon that those responsible for abusing Iraqi prisoners will be punished as the administration was accused of being slow and misguided in the way it addressed the abuse scandal.
At the same time, Mr Bush voiced full confidence in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "Of course I've got confidence in the secretary of defense," he told the US-funded Arabic television network Alhurra.
Mr Bush, trying to quell Arab outrage over the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners, said he wanted Iraqis to know that the abuse "does not represent the America that I know."
"It's also important for the people of Iraq to know that in a democracy everything is not perfect. Mistakes are made. But in a democracy as well those mistakes will be investigated and people will be brought to justice."
Mr Bush said he first learned of allegations of Iraqi prisoner abuse in January and that the US government has been in the process of investigating them.
The Democratic challenger for the US presidency Mr John Kerry tonight that the Bush administration, especially the Pentagon, was slow and misguided in trying to address the abuse of prisoners by US soldiers in Iraqi jails.
"The horrifying abuse of the Iraqi prisoners which the world has now seen is absolutely unacceptable and inexcusable and the response by the administration, certainly the Pentagon, has been slow and inappropriate," Kerry told a news conference while on a campaign swing in California.
Mr Kerry suggested Mr Bush had not gone far enough in showing the world that the United States cared about the scandal which erupted after the release of pictures showing the abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners.
"The World needs to hear from the president that the United States of America regrets any kind of abuse of this kind or any kind of effort like this because we have to show the world we are willing to correct our own mistakes, that we're willing to be responsible for things that don't live up to our values ... It's important for the United States to take responsibly when it is appropriate."