Monday, June 06, 2005
Tear down Abu Ghraib?
It's hardly news that the Bush administration is not fulfilling its pledges in Iraq, but with calls from US Senators and others for the dismantling of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, I wonder what happened with Bush's pledge to tear down Abu Ghraib? This pledge was a significant part of the administration's reaction to the prisoner abuse scandal. More than a year later, and as far as I know the prison is still in use by US forces. Not only that, but it's become the target for raids by groups of insurgents, indicating that it is still a symbol of US occupation and mistreatment of Iraqis. It's breathtaking how easily the administration ignores its own promises once the attention of voters and reporters is turned the other way.
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To confirm that Abu Ghraib is, yes, still being operated by US forces, here's an article from Forbes.com describing a prison breakout from Abu Ghraib that happened last Sunday-- that's June 5, *2005*:
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2005/06/07/afx2078991.html
And here's another on an insurgent attack on Abu Ghraib April 2, *2005*. 18 American soldiers were wounded in that attack. How do you suppose it feels to tell people you were wounded protecting the prison that's become synonymous with abuse of power?
http://www.politinfo.com/articles/article_2005_04_2_5126.html
Finally, here's an article announcing the US government's INTENT to hand over Abu Ghraib to Iraqi control...but, tellingly, "no deadline has been set." The article was published March 10. According to the Forbes.com article of two days ago, Abu Ghraib is still "US-run" today.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1434264,00.html
From this article, FYI:
"There are three main US detention centres in Iraq: Abu Ghraib, on the western outskirts of the capital, which holds about 3,160 detainees; Camp Bucca near the southern city of Umm Qasr, which has at least 5,640; and Camp Cropper at the Baghdad international airport complex, where Saddam Hussein and the leaders of the former Ba'athist regime are being held pending trial.
A fourth detention centre is run by British forces at Shaibah near the southern city of Basra, where 818 people are being held."
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