WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The scandal of abusing Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers has damaged the image and reputation of the United States across the world, particularly in the Middle East, and US Defense Minister Donald Rumsfeld, who has claimed "full responsibility," has been under growing pressure to resign.

    "I think that Mr. Rumsfeld should step down," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday. She accused Rumsfeld of cover-up from the start on the issue and continuing to be so.

    Democrat Senator Tom Harkin also demanded Rumsfeld's resignation "for the good of our country, the safety of our troops,and our image around the globe."

    "If he does not resign forthwith, the president should fire him," Harkin said in a statement.

    An editorial titled "Donald Rumsfeld Should Go" carried by The New York Times on Friday said it was time for Rumsfeld to go, "notonly because he bears personal responsibility of the scandal of Abu Ghraib." The United States has been humiliated, and the torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners "guaranteed to inflame Muslim hearts everywhere," the article said.

    Whether Rumsfeld can remain on his position as defense minister,however, does not lie with the Democrats, but will be decided by the White House and Republican lawmakers, analysts here said.

    On the Iraq war, the Bush administration has failed to date to find the alleged weapons of mass destruction and the former Iraqi regime's links to the al Qaeda, and its rationale for war is yet to be justified. Since President George W. Bush has not fired those responsible for intelligence failures on such a significant issue, the analyst said, it is unlikely that he would remove Rumsfeld simply because of the abuse scandal.

    At a time when Bush is campaigning for reelection focusing his war on terrorism, and less than two months before the planned power transfer in Iraq, the president also looks unlikely to replace his defense secretary, one of the major architect of the government's Iraq policy, they said.

    They noted that although Bush privately admonished Rumsfeld on the issue, he expressed "confidence" in Rumsfeld on different occasions and wanted him to stay.

    At hearings at the Congress on Friday, Rumsfeld said he took "full responsibility" for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers, and apologized to "those Iraqis who were mistreated by members of the US armed forces."

    Democrats continued to call for his resignation after the hearings, but Republican legislators showed support for him.

    "I thought he did a good job saying 'I'm sorry,'" Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican of South Carolina, told reporters after the hearing. Removing a defense secretary in the middle of awar "may send the wrong signal to our enemy and empower them," said Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    Analysts said another major factor that decides whether Rumsfeld will resign or not is the defense secretary himself.

    At the Senate hearing, Rumsfeld acknowledged that his resignation was "possible" if that would help demonstrate how seriously the government takes the situation, and therefore help to undo some of the damage to its reputation.

    But he insisted that he would not resign under political pressure, saying that the only factor in his decision is whether he can still be effective as defense secretary. "I would not resign simply because people try to make a political issue out of it," he said. Enditem