WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the military's handling of detained terrorism suspects yesterday while acknowledging that some had been mistreated, "sometimes grievously." At a news briefing, Rumsfeld also warned Iraq's neighbors not to shelter Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist leader the Pentagon says is likely wounded and needing medical care.

Rumsfeld began by criticizing Amnesty International, the human-rights group, for calling the U.S. detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, "the gulag of our time." The group has urged the United States to close the prison, where about 540 men are held on suspicion of links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban or the al-Qaida terrorist network. Some have been there for more than three years without charges.

Rumsfeld said the U.S. military has done more than any other force to liberate oppressed people and has gone to great lengths to ensure that detainees are free to practice their religion. "Indeed, that's why the recent allegation that the U.S. military is running a gulag at Guantánamo Bay is so reprehensible," he said.

The executive director of Amnesty International, William Schulz, issued a statement in response, saying Rumsfeld and other officials "continue to ignore the very real plight of men detained without charge or trial."

On another war topic, Rumsfeld issued a veiled warning to Syria, saying that none of Iraq's neighbors should give haven to al-Zarqawi, who reportedly was wounded recently near the Syrian border.

"Were a neighboring country to take him in and provide medical assistance or haven for him, they obviously would be associating themselves with a major linkage in the al-Qaida network and a person who has a great deal of blood on his hands," Rumsfeld said. He did not threaten retaliation but said "people would take note of" any such support for al-Zarqawi.

Appearing alongside Rumsfeld, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military doesn't know where al-Zarqawi is. "Our assessment is that he has been wounded. The severity, I don't know that we know that," he said.

Detainee numbers


Figures cited by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld while defending the treatment by the U.S. military of detained terrorism suspects:

Detainees in U.S. custody since Sept. 11, 2001: 68,000.

Criminal investigations into alleged mistreatment by U.S. personnel: 370.

U.S. servicemen and servicewomen who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and U.S. detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba: 525,000.

Military personnel found to have treated detainees illegally: Less than 0.1 percent, which works out to fewer than 525. About 130 have been punished as a result of investigations.

Detainees released from Guantánamo Bay: 200.

Released Guantánamo detainees captured again on battlefield: At least 12.

The Associated Press

Rumsfeld said that likening the Guantánamo Bay prison to forced-labor camps operated by the former Soviet Union, where millions perished in what became known as the gulag system, is inaccurate and "cannot be excused."

There has been widespread criticism of the Guantánamo Bay operation, which began in January 2002 with the arrival of prisoners captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Thus far, four men have been charged; their military trials have been stalled because of appeals in U.S. courts.

After Newsweek magazine reported last month that U.S. officials had confirmed that U.S. guards at Guantánamo Bay flushed a copy of the Quran down a toilet, the prison commander conducted an inquiry that concluded there was no such incident. He did conclude there had been five instances of Quran mishandling, although he refused to provide details. Newsweek retracted its story.

Rumsfeld twice offered his resignation after revelations in April 2004 about mistreatment of Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison.