US President George W. Bush said today images of abuse and humiliation at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad represented the "wrongdoing of a few" as he sought to quell worldwide outrage over the scandal.
Mr Bush's comments in his weekly radio address came a day after embattled US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned in congressional testimony that more damaging images of mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners might be published.
The president's attempt to play down the extent of wrongdoing conflicts with an International Committee of the Red Cross report that mistreatment, sometimes tantamount torture, was rife and may have been condoned by US forces.
Photographs in the media last week showed US soldiers grinning as they posed with naked Iraqi prisoners shown in humiliating positions.
"What took place in that Iraqi prison was the wrongdoing of a few, and does not reflect the character of the more than 200,000 military personnel who have served in Iraq since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom," Mr Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Mr Bush repeated his belief that Americans were liberators in Iraq and expressed his strong support for the US troops.
He said the scandal was a stain on US honor and pledged to fully investigate prisons in Iraq to ascertain the extent of the problem and punish those responsible.
"We will learn all the facts and determine the full extent of these abuses," he said. "Those involved will be identified. They will answer for their actions."