Hussein Photo Angers U.S.

Saddam Hussein, once rarely portrayed in anything but crisp military uniforms or elegant business suits, appeared on the cover of two tabloid newspapers Friday clad only in white briefs.

The Pentagon was not amused. Nor were many Iraqis who viewed the images on television after returning home from Sabbath prayers.

U.S. military officials expressed concern that the photographs may have violated the former Iraqi president’s rights under Geneva Convention rules on the treatment of prisoners. Authorities in Baghdad and Washington said they were trying to learn who had taken the photos and how they came into the possession of two newspapers owned by Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Asked whether the pictures of Hussein might further inflame tensions and inspire the anti-American insurgency in Iraq, President Bush said, “I don’t think a photo inspires murderers. I think they’re inspired by an ideology that is so barbaric and backwards that it’s hard for many in the Western world to comprehend how they think.”

Bush did not directly criticize the release of the photographs, but White House spokesman Trent Duffy said later that Bush backed a Pentagon investigation.

“These photos are wrong. They’re in clear violation of [Defense Department] directives and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals,” Duffy said. “And the multinational forces in Iraq as well as the president are very disappointed at the possibility that someone responsible for the security, welfare and detention of Saddam Hussein would take and provide these photos for public release.”

Hussein, captured by U.S. forces 17 months ago and now in the legal custody of the Iraqi government, is being held in a cell at the U.S.-run Camp Cropper at the Baghdad airport that once bore his name. He is expected to be tried on war crimes charges this year.

The photographs showed up Friday morning in Britain’s Sun and the New York Post, and copies of the newspapers were quickly aired on television news.

Executives with the tabloids said the photographs were authentic and were obtained from a U.S. military source they would not identify. They defended the decision to publish them.

“They are a fantastic, iconic set of news pictures that I defy any newspaper, magazine or television station who were presented with them not to have published,” said Graham Dudman, managing editor of the Sun. “He’s not been mistreated. He’s washing his trousers. This is the modern-day Adolf Hitler. Please don’t ask us to feel sorry for him.”

The U.S. military command in Baghdad said in a written statement that it did not know the source of the photographs and that they apparently were taken more than a year ago. One showed Hussein in underpants, another had him scrubbing a piece of clothing. U.S. officials did not question whether the photographs were genuine.

The statement said that the pictures had been taken “in clear violation” of Pentagon directives “and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals.”

“We take seriously our responsibility to ensure the safety and security of all detainees,” the statement continued. “This lapse is being aggressively investigated to determine, if possible, who took the photos, and to ensure existing procedures and directives are complied with to prevent this from happening again.”

Coming after the formation of a new Iraqi government that is struggling to maintain stability, the pictures could be seen as a slap at Sunni Muslim Arabs. Many members of the minority feel disenfranchised and humiliated by the U.S.-led invasion and the ouster of Hussein, a Sunni. When he was in power, the Sunnis dominated the Shiite Muslim majority, whose members now lead the government.

The images also could anger Muslims outside Iraq who feel that the United States is insensitive to Muslim beliefs and culture. Muslims typically take care to avoid appearing in public in less than full attire.

“Regardless of whatever he was before, he is still an Iraqi,” said Basama Abdullah, a government worker in Baghdad. “The goal of showing these pictures is to put shame on the Iraqis.”

But Raad Khafaji, a teacher in Baghdad, wondered why such a fuss was being made. He said Hussein had once been pictured swimming in a lake near Ramadi with his children “in the same-size pants as we saw him now.”

The White House, meanwhile, drew a distinction between the pictures that appeared Friday and those released by the military shortly after Hussein was captured Dec. 13, 2003.

The earlier pictures “were released for overriding needs of security -- to demonstrate to the Iraqi people and the insurgents that Saddam Hussein was in fact in custody,” the White House said in a statement released in response to questions asked at the daily news briefing. “The recent release of photos had no such justification.”

The incident also raised new questions about the United States’ handling of prisoners after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and allegations of abuse at the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Hussein’s lawyers would not comment directly on the photographs. But one, Giovanni di Stefano, complained in an interview with CNN that his client had not been formally charged with a crime.

“Never mind about photographs of Saddam Hussein in his underpants,” the lawyer said.

Gerstenzang reported from Washington and Roug from Baghdad. Times staff writers John Hendren in Washington and Raheem Salman in Baghdad contributed to this report.