U.S. Plans Expansion of Crowded Iraq Prisons -LAT

[Rose Siding]

BAGHDAD — Faced with a ballooning prison population, U.S. commanders in Iraq are building new detention facilities at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison and Camp Bucca near the Kuwaiti border and are developing a third major prison, in northern Iraq.

The burgeoning number of detainees has also resulted in a lengthy delay in plans for the U.S. to transfer full control of Abu Ghraib to the Iraqi government.

Maj. Gen. William Brandenburg, who oversees U.S.-run prisons in Iraq, had planned to be out of Abu Ghraib by early spring. "I believed it until mid-December, but the numbers just weren't going that way," he said. "Business is booming."
...
The number of prisoners held by the U.S. in Iraq reached record levels this month before falling slightly. As of Saturday, the average prisoner total in June stood at 10,783, up from 7,837 in January and 5,435 in June 2004.

The two main U.S. Army-run prisons, Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca, are operating near their maximum or "surge" emergency limits. On Saturday, the two prisons together held 10,178 inmates, with 1,630 detainees awaiting processing in different Army divisional and brigade headquarters.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-abughraib26jun26,0,4979912.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[acmavm]

1. What a way to 'Let Freedom Reign'! Put 'em all in prison.

What is wrong with this picture?

[saigon68]

9. THE MILITARY WILL PUT UP MASSIVE BARBED WIRE CAGES

That way the prisoners families can VISIT

see below

[leftchick]

12. That one just breaks my heart...

well they all do, but that one... :cry:

[bemildred]

2. Yeah, this is working so good, let's do more of it. nt

[LynnTheDem]

3. More Iraqis in jail under bush than jailed under Hussein.

No surprise from America, a nation that is #1 in number of citizens detained.

No surprise on the total hypocrisy, either.

[Benhurst]

5. Yeah, this just goes to prove that we are giving the

Iraqi people Americn style "democracy." Let freedom reign!

[mom cat]

4. "Business is booming."---Maj. Gen. William Brandenburg

Isn't it wonderful that one segment of the Iraqi economy is at last improving! :sarcasm:

[maddezmom]

6. no where does it name who won the $50 million project?

HALLIBURTON?

[dArKeR]

7. When convicted, should our murderers be jailed in America or Iraq?

[maddezmom]

8. no the "tropical paradise"

Gitmo

[dArKeR]

11. Why is the US able to occupy land in a foreign country, Cuba?

[daleo]

16. It goes back to the Spanish-American war of early 20th century

Part of the peace treaty included ceding Guantanamo to the U.S. (or maybe leasing) in perpetuity, or something like that. I guess Castro hasn't challenged this, as it would give the U.S. a causus belli (I hope I spelled that right - in any case, a pretext for war).

[mcg]

24. casus belli

very close

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=casus%20belli

www.dictionary.com is a nice tool, it will search for close matches, I entered 'causus belli' to find the entry.

[MrPrax]

10. "reached record levels this month"?

The number of prisoners held by the U.S. in Iraq reached record levels this month before falling slightly. As of Saturday, the average prisoner total in June stood at 10,783, up from 7,837 in January and 5,435 in June 2004.


Record for who? The US or did they break Saddam's old record?

...falling slightly? Why? Did prisoner's die in custody?

So over the space of one year, the number of prisoners held DOUBLED?

I am surprised that a really good journalist would miss that prime FACT and state it thusly in the 'lead' and so avoid such throwaways like 'ballooning' and 'burgeoning' and 'business is booming' quotes.

A really good journalist could then focus on WHY the 'balloning detainees/prisoners' are keeping the US from not only handing over control of prisons, but have to build new ones?

How about processing the 'detainees/prisoners/some guy' with trials? That might relieve the 'balloon'.

Basically these are concentration camps...and it's good that the writer points out more are needed

[wtmusic]

13. What Iraq will be in 5 years:

A small but docile "free" population, huge detention centers (aka prison camps, with possibly millions of prisoners), and fortified islands where Americans stay for all but the most essential operations involved with stealing Iraqi oil. :grr:

[K-W]

14. Gulag gulag gulag gulag gulag gulag gulag.

Gulag.

[maddezmom]

15. The Independent: Abu Ghraib expanded as violence sweeps Iraq

By Kim Sengupta
27 June 2005


Faced with unremitting violence, the United States is building new detention areas at Iraqi prisons including the notorious Abu Ghraib.

President George Bush had declared that Abu Ghraib would be torn down in a symbolic gesture after shocking pictures emerged of Iraqi inmates being abused and tortured by American forces.

But the continuing insurgency and rising death toll has meant that not only can the US not hand over Abu Ghraib to the new Iraqi government, according to a planned timetable, but other prisons including Camp Bucca in the British-controlled south of the country are being expanded.

The numbers of prisoners being held by the US in Iraq has reached record levels this month, with 10,783 in custody, up from 7,837 in January and 5,435 in June last year. American Iraqi officials agree there is no sign of the resistance or the prisoners it produces abating soon. "It's been a challenge" said Col James Brown, commander of the 18th Military Police Brigade. "Many of the people we have captured have not given up the struggle."

more:http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=650029

[Greyskye]

17. yahoo - link

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20050627/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

The U.S. military said Monday it plans to expand its prisons across Iraq to hold as many as 16,000 detainees, as the relentless insurgency shows no sign of letup one year after the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqi authorities.

Tells us again guys about those "last throes"...

[LibertyorDeath]

18. Military to Expand Prisons Across Iraq

By FRANK GRIFFITHS, Associated Press Writer 53 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military said Monday it plans to expand its prisons across
Iraq to hold as many as 16,000 detainees, as the relentless insurgency shows no sign of letup one year after the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqi authorities.

The plans were announced on a day three U.S. Army soldiers were killed — two pilots whose helicopter crashed north of Baghdad and a soldier who was shot in the capital. At least four Iraqis died in a car bomb attack in the capital.

The prison population at three military complexes throughout the country —
Abu Ghraib, Camp Bucca and Camp Cropper — has nearly doubled from 5,435 in June 2004 to 10,002 now, said Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill, a spokesman for detainee operations in Iraq. Some 400 non-Iraqis are among the inmates, according to the military.

"We are past the normal capacity for both Abu Ghraib and Camp Bucca. We are at surge capacity," Rudisill said. "We are not at normal capacity for Camp Cropper."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050627/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. So -- the terrible dictator Saddam Hussein had plenty enough prison space

to do his evil work, to imprison anybody he didn't like, but now the U.S. needs to build more? WTF?

[LibertyorDeath]

23. You're either with them or against them.

If you support the illegal occupation of your Country (Iraq) & the
pillaging of it's resources.

You are with them. aka in American media speak as a Iraqi Citizen.

If you are against the illegal occupation of your Country & the
unnecessary killing detention & torturing of your fellow Iraqi Citizens.

You are a terrorist insurgent more than likely connected to
the ever elusive Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

How much longer can this farce continue.

[DrZeeLit]

20. The more spread out, the more prisons, the less oversight will occur.

It will be hard to cover all of them. Who would even try?
Torture?
Who would be around to say otherwise?
Just one more prison amid many, many prisons.

Freedom is certainly on the march. And I think it's doin' the goose-step.

[ToeBot]

21. It's nice that we're Americanizing Iraq!

Incarceration, it's a growth industry.

[RC]

22. Beat me to it.

They don't want America to be the nation that incarcerates the most of its citizens.