US Troops Release Another 250 Iraqi POWs In So. Iraq [Good Quotes]</

AP via Dow Jones | 5/6/03 | AP Staff

[BunnySlippers]

US Troops Release Another 250 Iraqi POWs In So. Iraq

UMM QASR, Iraq (AP)--U.S. forces released another 250 Iraqi war prisoners Tuesday in southern Iraq, as they continued to empty out U.S.-run detention camps which once housed some 7,000 men.

In the past two weeks, more than 5,000 prisoners of war as well as civilian detainees have been released from Camp Bucca after a military tribunal determined they posed no threat, said Sgt. Maj. Ambrose Michelino, a U.S. military policeman.

About 1,800 to 1,900 prisoners remain in captivity in this southern Iraqi port city, he said.

He said most of those will be freed in coming days, though he expected about 400 to 900 "hard-core" prisoners will continue to be kept for questioning.

"These are the ones who have ties to not-so-nice groups," he said. Each prisoner was given water, a blanket and a box of food rations, along with $5 and some cigarettes.

Tuesday, the men waited to be loaded onto buses headed for the cities of Nasiriyah, Najaf and Basra. Many prisoners said they had been treated well during captivity and given regular meals and medical care.

"They gave me medicine for my stomach. I've never slept on a blanket like this. The first time I've eaten meat was as a prisoner," said Abdul Khaleq Najim, 54, waiting in line with his meager possessions.

Najim, a civilian detainee, said he had been arrested a month ago after neighbors told U.K. soldiers he was a Baath Party member.

A shiploader from Basra who worked in Umm Qasr's port, Najim said he had no choice about joining the party.

"If you wanted to get any kind of a job, you had to join the party. If you wanted to leave the party, they would take away your ration card," he said. Some of the prisoners being released Tuesday were civilians, though the vast majority were Iraqi soldiers from Saddam's regular army.

"The treatment was very good. They treated officers with respect," said Maj. Haider Nasser Hussein, 38.

Hussein, a 17-year army veteran from Najaf, said he holds no grudges against the U.K. and U.S. soldiers who defeated him. Even though he fought them, Hussein said he was happy they had won.

"They got rid of a repressive regime," he said of his former leader, Saddam. Hussein said he wants to remain in the military, but "I'd like to be part of rebuilding and defending a new Iraq."

[Jewels1091]

I hope that a majority of the people in Iraq feel this way!

[Mister Baredog]

I hope that a majority of the people in Iraq feel this way!

Many do, and more will as their lives improve. This isn't going to be the hardest part, these poor people have been deprived for a long time, we can and will help a lot. The harder part will be getting to the point of selfgovernance, but given time, it will likely happen.

[cyncooper]

Thank you for posting this. I read a week ago of other prisoners being released, chanting "USA" and "Bush, Bush" the whole while.

And just yesterday some Red Cross (boy, has my opinion of THEM gone downhill--the international arm, anyway) babe was insisting that their organization needed to get in Iraq ASAP because they need to make sure the prisoners are being cared for.

First, while I have no problem giving them access, the conditions clearly are not safe enough yet. Second, the implication of her words were that the coalition could be presumed to not abide by the appropriate standards. Bah.

Again, excellent post.