Newsweek: Number of Iraqis detained has jumped to almost 38,000

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18631180/site/newsweek/

A surge in arrests is raising new questions about Iraqi jails—and heightening concerns among U.S. officials.


Out of Action: A suspected insurgent in American custody

<snip>

This is the other side of the surge: as thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops flood Baghdad's neighborhoods, the jails are also filling up. According to figures from the Ministry of Human Rights, the number of Iraqis detained nationwide from the end of January until the end of March—a period that includes the first six weeks of the new Baghdad security plan—jumped by approximately 7,000 to 37,641. U.S. forces swept up 2,000 prisoners a month in March and April, almost twice the average from the second half of last year. Iraqi arrest numbers are roughly equivalent. Some of these detainees are falling into a kind of legal limbo, held for weeks without a hearing. Others are allegedly suffering even worse fates. The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, is worried enough that he issued an open letter to American advisers paired up with Iraqi units last week: "It is very important that we never turn a blind eye to abuses, thinking that what Iraqis do with their own detainees is 'Iraqi business'."

...

But detentions, like the security plan itself, are a joint effort. About half the detainees in Baghdad end up in Iraqi prisons run by the Iraqi Army, police and Ministry of Justice. And while U.S.-run detention centers have been much more strictly monitored since the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2004, local jails remain black holes. "Torture and abusive behavior are widespread," says an independent monitor who has inspected Baghdad-area detention facilities, and who asked for anonymity in order to maintain access to prisons.

...

The crush of new prisoners is only adding to the chaotic atmosphere within Iraqi jails. U.S. military officials do confront their Iraqi counterparts with abuse allegations and conduct periodic joint inspections of Iraqi facilities. "We're constantly sending signals that we're watching, to make them stay in line," says Lt. Col. Steven Miska, the deputy commander of a U.S. task force at Forward Operating Base Justice, where Edala prison is located.

[NNN0LHI]

1. The children of these people who haven't even been born yet are going to hate us n/t

[Jim__]

2. Maybe if we put all the Iraqis in jail, there will be a decrease in the overall

level of violence, we can declare success, and bring the troops home. :sarcasm:

[me b zola]

3. Huh?

US officials are concerned?

Wasn't there an article a few weeks ago stating that US forces in Iraq were preparing to expand the number of prisoners that they could hold to 40,000? Does anyone remember the article that I'm talking about?








On edit: The first two times I tried to post this it posted my sig line as the body of my message and my message vanished.

[sabra]

5. here you go:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=590254

[me b zola]

6. Thank you, sabra

So now US officials are concerned that the Iraqi run prisons may not be in line with a standard of professionalism? It sounds like things are going according to plan. From the link you provided:

Under the Petraeus plan, US forces are gearing up to hold up to 40,000 Iraqi captives

~snip~

But indeed, this means building the capacity to hold some detainees until the Iraqi judicial system – for centuries, the pride of Iraq – can be restored to its former glory. For the past several years, the United States itself has held about 13,000 individuals captive and now holds about 18,000 captives. But as the Baghdad security plan also known as Fard Al Kanoon moves forward, Petraeus is planning for the possibility of holding as many as 40,000 captives. Most are being held at two facilities, one at Camp Cropper in Baghdad and another at Camp Bucca, south of the city.

American commands will hold many of those detainees indefinitely to collect intelligence about local networks and terrorist or insurgent activity, providing regular reviews of their cases to assess the security risks they would pose if put back on the street. Many others will be transferred to the Iraqis, where they would become the subjects of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0406/p02s01-usmi.html?page=2

Jesus, we filled those 40,000 slots pretty fast. Are we just rounding up all men of fighting age?

[partylessinOhio]

4. What have you done to our image in the world, *? America weeps.

Iraqis have done nothing to me, let their people go!

[magellan]

7. Wow, dig that photo caption: "A *suspected* insurgent in American custody"

What's happened to the corporate whoring media? Did they get a conscience or a clue or both?