In an attempt to repair some of the damage over accusations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners, U.S. President George W. Bush gave two 10-minute interviews with Arab television stations on Wednesday.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday the actions of some American soldiers were unacceptable.

"This is an opportunity for the president to speak directly to the people in Arab nations and let them know that the images that we all have seen are shameless and unacceptable.

Wired Iraqi prisoner at the Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq. (AP Photo/Courtesy of The New Yorker)

"These images do not represent what America stands for, nor do they represent the high standards of conduct that our military is committed to upholding," he said.

Bush will conduct the interviews on Wednesday with the U.S.-sponsored Al-Hurra television network and the Arab network Al Arabiya.

The U.S. has found itself accused of using excessive force in Iraq.

Donald Rumsfeld

On Tuesday, a disturbing videotape surfaced that was apparently taken in December, showing U.S. forces opening fire from a helicopter on three Iraqis.

The pictures were apparently taken from a hovering U.S. helicopter and given to European media by a former U.S. Army employee.

There has been no official American reaction to the helicopter pictures.

U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the pictures of prisoners being abused by U.S. soldiers are "an exception."

"It was shocking, they showed acts that are despicable ... but at the same time, I want to remind the world that this is a small number of troops who acted in an illegal and improper manner." said U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

But a leaked, internal military report says such abuses, including sexual assault, were systemic.

Even Rumsfeld was at a loss to explain the actions of the American soldiers. "It is an exceptional, isolated, we hope, an isolated case. And our country is our country and it is a wonderful country."

So far there has been no apology, although seven U.S. Army officers have been reprimanded and six soldiers working at the Abu Ghraib prison are facing criminal charges.

The Army says a total of 20 investigations into prisoner deaths and assaults are now underway in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Baghdad, the U.S.-appointed Iraqi human rights minister announced his resignation because of the prisoner abuse revelations. Abdul-Basat al-Turki says he complained to the top U.S. administrator in Iraq about human rights violations last December. He says he was horrified and outraged by the photographs and believes the abuses are common practice.

Another minister is demanding Iraqis be given a role in running the country's prisons and the United Nations says it has begun its own investigation into human rights violations in Iraq.