At the moment, everything in Iraq is 'ours' under international law..
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A proposal to destroy the prison where Iraqi detainees were abused moved forward Thursday as lawmakers voted to include it in a defense spending bill.
The measure, by Pennsylvania Reps. Curt Weldon, a Republican, and John P. Murtha, a Democrat, would demolish the Abu Ghraib prison and build a modern detention facility in its place. It was included in a $422 billion defense authorization bill the House approved Thursday.
"This prison was a symbol of terrorism under Saddam, and it was an institution that the Iraqi people despised," Weldon said.
The abuse that happened at the prison "really created a bad perception in Iraq," Weldon said. "So my feeling is, tear it down. Get rid of it Not just because of what a few soldiers did, but because of also because of what that symbol meant to Saddam, and show the Iraqi people, 'Hey, we don't want that kind of torture anymore.'"
During a short debate, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., said destroying the prison "is the sovereign Iraqis' decision to make.
But Weldon, in an interview, noted that the demolition plan calls for the consent of the new Iraqi government since "by the time this bill passes, they'll be in charge."
The House voted 308-114 to include the prison provision in the defense bill. A similar proposal is pending in the Senate.