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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| U.S. to Reduce Prison Population in Iraq | |
| 2004-05-05 | |
Reeling from such claims, the U.S. military said it was ordering troops to use blindfolds instead of hoods, and requiring interrogators to get permission before depriving inmates of sleep - one of the most common techniques reported by freed Iraqis. Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, former commander of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, said his changes to interrogation techniques were aimed at getting "the maximum amount of intelligence" while treating prisoners in a humane manner. He said he would cut the number of inmates at Abu Ghraib to fewer than 2,000 from the current 3,800. The U.S.-led coalition has about a dozen prisons around Iraq holding a total of 7,000 to 8,000 inmates. The Saddam Hussein-era Abu Ghraib, on the western edge of Baghdad, is at the center of reports that American guards abused Iraqi prisoners. Some officials have warned the prison is overcrowded. Over the summer, Miller led a team of 30 specialists who investigated - and changed - interrogation methods used in U.S.-run prisons here. Miller's investigation at Abu Ghraib is one of three ordered by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, in response to alleged abuses by U.S. Military Police, their commanders and interrogators. Six soldiers have been charged and six more received stiff reprimands. Miller took over as head of the prison last month after the previous chief, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, was suspended amid investigations into the claims of abuse. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Wait, seven to eight thousand? What about the fifty thousand we supposedly have in the clink? Are there POW camps that aren't counted among these numbers, or is the fifty thousand including Iraqi-ministry-controlled lockups? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2004-05-05 9:03:36 AM |