Rumsfeld Pays Surprise Iraq Visit

US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Iraq today on a surprise visit as the United States struggled to quell criticism over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American military guards.

Mr Rumsfeld, travelling under tight security to a country where almost 800 US servicemen and women have died since the start of the war last year, landed at Baghdad airport ahead of planned meetings with the top US commander in Iraq, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, and other senior officers.

During the 15-hour flight from Washington, Mr Rumsfeld denied that the Pentagon was trying to cover up the scandal over abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, which sparked international outrage and led to charges against US troops.

"If anybody thinks that I'm (in Iraq) to throw water on a fire, they're wrong," he told reporters aboard his aircraft. "We care about the detainees being treated right. We care about soldiers behaving right. We are about command systems working."

Other US defence officials said the sudden trip by Mr Rumsfeld and General Richard Myers, chairman of the Pentagon's joint chiefs of staff, was triggered by the recent publication of photographs of US military guards humiliating naked Iraqi prisoners.

"This is a terrible tragedy. We're not going to ever say it's not. I think we absolutely have the high moral ground," said Gen Myers.

Mr Rumsfeld and Gen Myers have appeared in recent days before congressional panels to answer questions about whether humiliation, sexual assault and violence were part of methods used to "soften up" prisoners ahead of interrogation.

The Senate armed services committee has been holding hearings to determine whether prisoner abuses were limited to the Abu Ghraib facility.

The committee also wants to establish whether responsibility went beyond a small group of enlisted soldiers and their immediate supervisors, who the army says provided inadequate training and supervision.

Mr Rumsfeld's visit came one day after the military announced it would court martial two more American soldiers, including a man accused of taking part in putting a wired-up prisoner on a box and threatening him with electrocution. A third soldier was already scheduled for court martial.

Meanwhile, there were further clashes on the ground as US troops continued their battle with Iraqi fighters in Kerbala. The gunfight, which has raged intermittently for the last three days, was taking place close to the city's Imam Hussein shrine, which is one of the most revered sites for Shia muslims.

There were no reports of further casualties today, although at least 25 Iraqi fighters were killed yesterday and several US troops injured.