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| Iraq |
| Iraq frees hundreds of prisoners |
| 2006-06-28 |
| Iraq has freed about 450 prisoners from Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad as part of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's national reconciliation plan to restore law and order in his war-torn country. None of the prisoners had been convicted of any crime, Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie told CNN on Tuesday. "These detainees were detained on a security basis," al-Rubaie said. "I believe it's a goodwill gesture toward our people in our country to show that the government is serious about the national reconciliation." Through the plan, the government hopes to quell the daily insurgent violence and bring more ethnic and religious factions into the political fold. (Watch what the government is proposing -- 2:39) Iraq has released more than 2,700 prisoners under the program and plans one more release this month, a Justice Ministry official told CNN. Al-Maliki has vowed not to free anyone who has committed or been accused of terrorist acts, war crimes or crimes against humanity, like former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern, however, that al-Maliki's plan leaves the door open for amnesty for prisoners who have killed U.S. troops in battle. Al-Rubaie has disputed that, saying "Iraqi blood is as sacred as the American blood" and that al-Maliki intends to have "selective amnesty" for prisoners who have not committed crimes against Iraqi civilians, soldiers or coalition forces. The prisoner release coincided with the government's announcement of new benefits for freed detainees, as they transition into normal lives. Former government employees who had been detained and released will be reinstated to their jobs, and their service is to be considered uninterrupted when considered for bonuses, promotion and retirement privileges, The Associated Press reported. Students who had been detained and released can return to school to take final exams and won't be failed for the past school year, despite time missed, according to the AP. In a boost for al-Maliki, the reconciliation plan won the endorsement of one of Iraq's largest Sunni Arab groups Tuesday, according to the AP. Prominent Sunni cleric Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samaraie offered the support of his Sunni Endowment, the state agency responsible for Sunni mosques and shrines, the AP reported. He urged the government, however, to act quickly in completing the details of the plan, such as the disbanding of armed militias, according to AP. Meanwhile, some insurgent groups are talking to the Iraqi government about possibly laying down their arms, two parliament members said. "Some sources around the president said that groups may respond positively to the national reconciliation plan, but have conditions like American withdrawal and recognition of resistance," Kurdish parliament member Mahmoud Othman told CNN. However, he noted that he does not know the groups' names. Another parliament member and a member of al-Maliki's Shiite alliance, Hasan al-Seneid, confirmed the interest, telling CNN that intermediaries are "getting positive signals" from insurgents. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #3 Iranians manufacture IEDs (incidentally, if they're factory made, should they be called IEDs?) Iranian Explosive Device = I.E.D. |
| Posted by: Steve 2006-06-28 12:41 |
| #2 They don't manufacture IEDs, gromky---Iranians manufacture IEDs (incidentally, if they're factory made, should they be called IEDs?) |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-06-28 06:55 |
| #1 This had better f-ing work. Otherwise there are 450 more men who will be busy manufacturing and planting IEDs. |
| Posted by: gromky 2006-06-28 04:36 |