Amnesty International has accused the United States, of being two-faced about the treatment of prisoners.

It called on President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry--whoever wins the elections next week--to order an independent probe of prisoner abuse, in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

In a scathing 200-page report, the London-based human rights group says the US war on terrorism has adopted two standards--condemning abuses publicly, but committing them behind closed doors. It says the US has fallen short of the standards it routinely applies, in criticizing other governments.

Amnesty International released the report, six months after the exposure of the Abu Ghraib photos, to try to ensure that the issue of torture, does not fall off the US political agenda, after the election.

The group says it welcomes the investigations undertaken so far, but said they aren't "enough", and failed to address questions about ultimate responsibility. The highest-ranking US officer to be charged with abuses at Abu Ghraib, is a staff sergeant.

Source: CCTV