Psyche, Science, and Society

US to hold up to 40,000 Iraqis in indefinite detention

April 6th, 2007

The United States is planning on a massive increase in the number of Iraqi prisoners held in US detention centers, the Christian Science Monitor reports:

For the past several years, the United States itself has held about 13,000 individuals captive and now holds about 18,000 captives. But as the Baghdad security plan also known as Fard Al Kanoon moves forward, Petraeus is planning for the possibility of holding as many as 40,000 captives. Most are being held at two facilities, one at Camp Cropper in Baghdad and another at Camp Bucca, south of the city.

American commands will hold many of those detainees indefinitely to collect intelligence about local networks and terrorist or insurgent activity, providing regular reviews of their cases to assess the security risks they would pose if put back on the street. Many others will be transferred to the Iraqis, where they would become the subjects of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.

Thus, the US will expand its Iraqi Guantanamos where Iraqis can be held indefinitely, with no real rights. They claim to want to avoid new Abu Ghraib-style abuses, but the reality of this claim remains to be seen, as as the despised occupation grinds on month after month.

Entry Filed under: Guantanamo, Iraq, Rights and Liberties, Uncategorized, War Crimes