The U.S. military announced Saturday that it has released nearly 1,000 prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison in response to a request by Iraqi authorities.
| Chris Hitchens challenges the anti-war left with this statement: "Prison conditions at Abu Ghraib have improved markedly and dramatically since the arrival of Coalition troops in Baghdad." There's no way anyone can argue against that. Yet HRW and The New Yorker never discussed very much at all the disgusting nature of Saddam's Abu Ghraib. The US is releasing 1,000 prisooners. Think we'll get any credit for this? Sure, just in the same way we got credit for cleaning up the appalling nature of Saddam's prisons. |
The move, the largest prisoner release to date, followed appeals by Sunni representatives to start releasing thousands of prisoners who have been caught violating the rules of war and can righfully be summarily executed without civilian trial. languishing in the jail for months without being charged.
After a meeting with President Jalal Talabani Thursday, Sunni negotiator Saleh al-Mutlaq said the president agreed to release many detainees before the Oct. 15, referendum on the constitution. Al-Mutlaq said hundreds of detainees, most of them Sunni Arabs, were to be set free.
"This major release ... marks a significant event in Iraq's progress toward democratic governance and the rule of law," the U.S. statement said.
"Those chosen for release are not guilty of serious, violent crimes — such as bombing, torture, kidnapping, or murder — and all have admitted their crimes, renounced violence, and pledged to be good citizens of a democratic Iraq."
| Cross their hearts and hope to ... um ... |
|