US Iraq jail an 'al-Qaeda school'

[Turborama]

Source: Al Jazeera English

Extremists held in a US-run detention centre in Iraq were allowed to teach fellow detainees how to use explosives and become suicide bombers, a former inmate has told Al Jazeera.

Adel Jasim Mohammed, a former detainee of Camp Bucca near Umm Qasr, said that US officials did nothing to stop radicals from indoctrinating young detainees at the camp.

"Extremists had freedom to educate the young detainees. I saw them giving courses using classroom boards on how to use explosives, weapons and how to become suicide bombers," Mohammed said. "For the Americans we felt it was normal. They did not stop them (the radicals)."

Adel, who was held for four years without charge at Camp Bucca, said that extremists were allowed to speak freely to fellow inmates.

"In 2005, an extremist was sent to our camp. At first, Sunnis and Shias rejected his teachings. But we were told that he was imposed by the prison authority," he said.

"He stayed for a week and recruited 25 of the 34 detainees - they became extremists like him."

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/2009121274712823455.html

---

Main story at the link includes a video report on this.

[Fearless]

1. Oh the irony.

[buckrogers1965]

2. Of course they were allowed to do so.

It is tough to wage perpetual war unless you support your "enemies" efforts at fighting you. If you actually won then you would have to get rid of the military industrial complex.

[Vidar]

9. You're right of course. That's why the CIA recruited Saddam & Osama in the first place.

[Stumbler]

3. No shit, Sherlock

Sounds like how non-violent drug offenders learn to become violent in our prisons.

It's great to see how today's solutions are directly leading to tomorrow's problems. :sarcasm:

[ConcernedCanuk]

4. ALL jails are training grounds for one thing or another

.
.

No-one comes out of jail without a new attitude and/or skills.

Trouble is

most learn attitudes and skills that are not productive in our society.

I bet most Muslims incarcerated at the hands of the Americans or their allies have an increased hatred for the "West"

mission accomplished

endless war

(sigh)

[CJCRANE]

5. Why aren't DUers all over this?

Instead of piling onto divisive concern meta-posts.

This goes beyond the usual Bushco excuse of incompetence (and even beyond suspected deliberate incompetence).

[Turborama]

6. What are concern meta posts?

I've not heard that phrase before.

[CJCRANE]

7. A concern post

usually begins "I'm concerned about..." or "I'm worried about..." and often has a hidden agenda.

A meta-post is a post about DU and DUers usually berating us for either being "leftbaggers" on the one hand or "cheerleaders" on the other.

[Turborama]

10. Thanks

Those threads that descend into vitriolic flame wars aren't even worth skim reading. It's a shame so many DUers waste their time on them.

[No Elephants]

8. Shhhh. Look forward, not back. Our D of J is having a hard enough time defending Yoo as it is.