In Brazil, the INR review noted, a commentary called for global condemnation of the U.S. abuses and describing treatment at Abu Ghraib as "the bastard daughter" of the open-ended detention of suspected al Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The international outrage has been so fierce that the current approach of blaming a few individuals is inadequate, U.S. officials say. "We're now realizing that we can't expect the Pentagon to handle all of these criticisms and requests to focus on the public affairs disaster this has caused," said the State Department official, who is involved in the strategy discussions.

"We're frantically working this issue and trying to come up with a strategy," he added. "We need to beat this back. People want not just words but action . . . to deal with this international firestorm."