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| Iraq |
| US military closes largest detention camp in Iraq |
| 2009-09-17 |
| The U.S. military on Wednesday closed Camp Bucca, an isolated desert prison that was once its largest lockup in Iraq, as it moves to release thousands of detainees or transfer them to Iraqi custody before the end of the year. The sprawling facility just north of the Kuwaiti border has held thousands of men over the years, including the most dangerous in U.S. custody — Sunni insurgents, Shiite extremists and al-Qaida in Iraq suspects swept up from battlefields over six years of war. Iraqi officials say some who have been freed have returned to violence. "They've been vetted as some of the most dangerous threats not only to Iraq but internationally," said Lt. Col. Kenneth King, the commander of the Bucca detention facility. By midnight, all were to be transferred to either Camp Taji or Camp Cropper just outside Baghdad, the U.S. military's two remaining detention facilities, while cases are prepared to try to bring them to trial in Iraqi courts. Sixty-five have already been convicted and are awaiting death sentences, said Brig. Gen. David Quantock, the commander in charge of the detention system. Iraqi officials in the former insurgent heartland around Fallujah have watched with concern as an influx of ex-detainees from Bucca return to homes in places with few jobs, making them easy prey for militant recruiters. The U.S. military is racing to empty its detention facilities because a security pact that went into effect in January requires them to either transfer detainees to Iraqi custody for prosecution or release them. The vast majority — 5,600 (veterans) since January — have been freed due to a lack of evidence that would be admissible in Iraqi courts and the military's unwillingness to compromise intelligence sources by bringing them forward as witnesses. About 1,400 have been handed over to Iraqi custody, and the U.S. military now holds around 8,400 prisoners. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #1 Well, well, well ... |
| Posted by: Willy 2009-09-17 16:57 |