KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Friday that allegations of abuse of U.S.-held prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan were "corrosive to the soul of the United States."
Armitage also praised Afghans and the international community for the hard and often dangerous work of preparing this war-shattered country for landmark elections in October. He promised that the results of America's own presidential vote, just a few weeks later, would have no effect on its commitment to rebuilding.
The U.S. military is investigating at least five cases of Afghan prisoners being abused while in U.S. custody, including at least four deaths. They are also dealing with a widening scandal into the treatment of detainees in Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib jail.
"The government of the United States, the people of the United States, have been horrified by the abuse and the allegations of abuse which have taken place in some prisons both in Iraq and in Afghanistan," Armitage said. "This is corrosive to the soul of the United States."
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Also Friday, the U.S. military announced that a soldier in the American-led coalition was being investigated on charges he assaulted an Afghan national army soldier he was training. A preliminary investigation was launched after another American soldier filed a complaint.
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