U.S. unsure when, if can hand over prisons to Iraq

By Alastair Macdonald and Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces are taking longer than expected to train Iraqis to run their prisons and have no clear view of when, if ever, they can entrust security suspects they hold to the overall control of the Iraqi authorities.

Acknowledging reports of torture and abuse in Iraqi-run prisons, the commander of U.S. camps that house 15,500 detainees said he was working to raise standards among Iraqis to the point where Washington can hand over its responsibilities without breaching its obligations to protect its prisoners from harm.

"The biggest challenge is legal authority to hold detainees," Major General Jack Gardner told Reuters in an interview, saying Iraq first needed appropriate facilities and to show it could meet international "standards of care".

"That's the goal. If we meet those criteria, then we will transfer. If we don't, we won't. It's not time dependent."

Washington is training Iraqis to run its military prisons at Camp Bucca in the south and at Camp Cropper near Baghdad, which replaced the ill-famed Abu Ghraib jail last year. It is also offering training to guards in Iraq's own prisons, while local U.S. units are expected to check on Iraqi jails in their areas.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2007-02-02T103731Z_01_MAC223380_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-DETENTIONS-Interview.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-6

Our new General testified in the Senate the other day and he said (get this) that Iraq only had one sixth the prisons that Texas had. Can you believe it? The problem with Iraq is that SADDAM DIDN'T BUILD ENOUGH PRISONS!

"Acknowledging reports of torture and abuse in Iraqi-run prisons, the commander of U.S. camps that house 15,500 detainees said he was working to raise standards among Iraqis to the point where Washington can hand over its responsibilities without breaching its obligations to protect its prisoners from harm"

:eyes:

delivered from bondage by US arms, and with its sovereignty restored by US diplomats. But they don't run their own prisons. Yep, sovereign.

What a total FUBAR.

That's George W. bUsh's MO; making FUBAR eveywhere he goes, all his useless little life.