Abu Ghraib

First the silly: "Approved the torture at Abu Ghraib? Hell, our President can't even pronounce Abu Ghraib!"

Then the serious: Today’s WaPo has an article about prisoners being freed from the infamous big house:

For Freed Iraqis, Mixed Emotions (washingtonpost.com)

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq, June 14 -- Just after sunrise, the detainees began lining up inside the trash-strewn compound where they had spent the night -- their last night -- at this infamous prison west of Baghdad.

Many clutched elaborately woven bags made of the plastic packages of ready-to-eat meals. Some called out farewells to relatives and friends who would remain behind. Military police officers joked with the detainees and shook their hands. One MP gently warned, "I don't want to see you again, brother."

Finally, they walked out of the barbed wire enclosure, dumping weathered blankets and orange-and-rose-colored prison jumpsuits in separate piles and accepting $25 in cash intended to help them get back on their feet. Then they waited for the buses that would take them away from a prison that has become a dark shadow over the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

For the 12,653rd time, the abuse was unconscionable. But Senator Kennedy's assertion that "the prison open up under new management" when the CPA took over Saddam's torture chambers is beneath contempt. I somehow don't think that scenes like this were too prevalent at Abu Ghraib a couple of years ago.

Posted by jk at June 15, 2004 08:30 AM