US and British tabloid photographs Friday of an imprisoned Saddam Hussein naked except for his white underwear prompted

a US military and condemnation from the Red Cross. he !nternational Committee for the Red Cross" which is responsible for monitoring prisoners of war and detainees" said the photographs #iolated Saddam$s right to pri#acy. % aking and using photographs of him is clearly forbidden"% !CRC &iddle 'ast spokeswoman (orothea )rimitsas said. US forces are obliged to %preser#e the pri#acy of the detainee.% Some !ra*is said the publication was the latest in a series of insults to +rabs and &uslims" while others said the humiliation is what the former dictator deser#es. US ,resident -eorge .. Bush said he did not think they would incite further anti/+merican sentiment in !ra*" where the country has been edging toward open sectarian conflict. %! don$t think a photo inspires murderers"% Bush said of the insurgents. % hese people are moti#ated by a #ision of the world that is backward and barbaric.% he pictures" howe#er" were certain to heap more scorn on an +merican image abroad already tarnished by the prisoner abuse scandal at Baghdad$s +bu -hraib 0ail and allegations by 1ewsweek" which were later retracted" about a 2uran desecration at the US prison camp in -uantanamo Bay" Cuba. Britain$s he Sun and the 1ew 3ork ,ost said the photos were pro#ided by a US military official it did not identify. he Sun said it would publish more of them on Saturday. Saddam$s chief lawyer" 4iad al/)hasawneh" said his legal team was preparing a lawsuit against the Sun for publishing what he said represented %an insult to humanity" +rabs and the !ra*i people.% %!t is clear that the pictures were taken inside the prison which means that +merican soldiers ha#e leaked the pictures"% he said by telephone from +mman" 5ordan. %.e will sue the newspaper and e#eryone who helped in showing these pictures.% ,entagon spokesman Bryan .hitman said the release of the photos was a #iolation of US military procedures and that %this is something that should not ha#e happened.% he photos not only angered the US military but also some !ra*is" whose reactions to seeing them on +rab satellite networks was a reflection of the di#isions now plaguing the country. Some people in this deeply conser#ati#e country were also offended because it showed Saddam in a state of undress. !ra*is gathered in Baghdad coffee shops and elsewhere in !ra* watched tele#ision images of the Sun$s front page" with its picture of Saddam standing in his underwear. 6ther photos show him clothed and seated on a chair doing some washing" sleeping and walking in what is described as his prison yard. % his is an insult to show the former president in such a condition. Saddam is from the past now" so what is the reason for this7 !t is bad work from the media. (o they want to degrade the !ra*i people7 6r they want to pro#oke their feelings"% said Baghdad businessman +bu Barick" 89. 6thers" howe#er" were not so kind. %Saddam Hussein and his regime were bloody and practiced mass killing against the people" therefore" whate#er happens to Saddam" whether he is photographed naked or washing his clothes" it means nothing to me. hat$s the least he deser#es"% Hawre Saliee" a :;/year/old )urd" said. he Sun$s managing editor" -raham (udman" defended the decision to print the pictures and defied any media outlet to ha#e withheld publication. % hey are a fantastic" iconic set of news pictures that ! defy any newspaper" maga<ine" or tele#ision station who were presented with them not to ha#e published"% he said. +sked to respond to criticism of the decision to publish the photos" (udman said= % his is a man who has murdered a minimum of :>>">>> people and we$re supposed to feel sorry for him because someone$s taken his picture7% %He$s not been mistreated. He$s washing his trousers. his is the modern/day +dolf Hitler. ,lease don$t ask us to feel sorry for him.% he US military in Baghdad said the photos #iolated military guidelines %and possibly -ene#a Con#ention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained indi#iduals.% % he specific issue here is that these images are against ?(epartment of (efense@ policy. !t$s not the content of the photo that is the issue at hand" but it is the existence or release of the photos"% US military spokesman Staff Sgt. (on (ees said. He added that the military would *uestion the troops responsible for Saddam as part of its in#estigation. US military officials in !ra* belie#e the photos are %dated% / perhaps more than one year old" although no specific date has been established" .hitman said at the ,entagon. 6fficials also are attempting to determine whether the images were taken from a sur#eillance camera or hand/held camera" he added.