General Wants Many Detainees Released

Until I read this story this morning I didn't realize the extent of the detainee problem in Iraq, other than the abuse scandals that had occurred earlier in our occupation of the country. However, The commander of U.S. prison camps in Iraq said he wants to cut the number of Iraqis in his custody by around two thirds by the end of 2008 as part of a wider counter-insurgency plan to bring down violence.

The number of detainees held by the American-led military forces in Iraq has swelled by 50 percent under the troop increase ordered by President Bush, with the inmate population growing to 24,500 today from 16,000 in February, according to American military officers in Iraq.

The detainee increase comes, they said, because American forces are operating in areas where they had not been present for some time, and because more units are able to maintain a round-the-clock presence in some areas. They also said more Iraqis were cooperating with military forces.

Nearly 85 percent of the detainees in custody are Sunni Arabs, the minority faction in Iraq that ruled the country under the government of Saddam Hussein; the other detainees are Shiites, the officers say.

Let's do the right thing and get this issue resolved as the General indicates, it will be in "our" best interests to get the "innocent" Iraqi's back in their homes, instead of detainment camps.

There is a second link to a very detailed story by New York Times reporter, Tom Shanker, and will give additional insight into the plight of the Iraqi detainees. The link is just below this post. Thanks!


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tom shanker story