Rumsfeld still has support of Bush

WASHINGTON — After gauging reaction to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's testimony Friday about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, the White House deployed President Bush's most senior officials Saturday to make the case that the Pentagon chief is too valuable to lose now.

Vice President Dick Cheney, who was defense secretary under President George H.W. Bush, said through a spokesman that Rumsfeld "is the best secretary of defense the United States has ever had."

"People ought to let him do his job," Cheney said.

Administration officials spent the weekend reviewing hundreds of photographs collected as part of the investigation of abuse of prisoners in Iraq, some showing new cases of the humiliation of captives and many consisting of heterosexual pornography involving soldiers in uniform. Senior military officials said the images, including digital video files, depict stunning physical abuse of prisoners in Iraq.

"It's not snapshots of people pointing at detainees — it's live-action abuse," said a Pentagon official who would speak only anonymously because the videos have not been released. "It's horrible."

Some White House officials pushed for the immediate release of the photos. But the Pentagon held back and instead is considering offering viewings to Congress.

Republican officials said the White House has concluded that despite some remaining skepticism among Republicans on Capitol Hill, support for Rumsfeld in the country is strong and that replacing him would be disruptive to the war effort and could be seen as a concession of broader failure by Bush.

These officials said Rumsfeld's resignation would provide an opening to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. They said Bush's popularity rests on his personal characteristics, including steadfastness and loyalty, and said that could be undermined if he abandoned Rumsfeld.

Confirmation hearings for a new Pentagon chief could open up a damaging debate about the war right before the election. However, GOP officials said Bush would be more likely to leave Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as the acting secretary rather than nominate someone new.

National security adviser Condoleezza Rice said in a telephone interview, after speaking to Bush at Camp David, that Rumsfeld "has the president's support and he's going to continue to have it."