Cropper and Bucca

Camps Cropper and Bucca are where the US held people they believed were involved in 'nefarious activities' in Iraq. I have no doubt there are bad people in there, but they were held without trial, some for a number of years. The two camps became a sort of 'Gladiator Academy' for terrorists; while they were detained, these guys networked, shared intelligence, and spread information and successful techniques. Again, I have no doubt there are bad people in there, and they are there for all the right reasons.

As a part of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed by the Government of Iraq and the United States, the US is no longer allowed to detain or hold Iraqis without approval from the Iraqi Government. Both the IA and Coalition Forces need a warrant to detain now (and this is good). But the SOFA said we also were no longer allowed to operate detention camps or hold people without process. Theater Internment Facilities like Bucca and Cropper were no longer legal. We had two options: One, hand the Iraqis the keys to the jail and sign over the entire place to them and let them hold trials, or two, set the prisoners free, with a mild apology. Guess which idea won out.

Starting in January, the US has been purging these jails little by little each month. The detainees are moved to the point of capture, and if no one makes a claim against them, they are set free, providing a guarantor (someone from their tribe) vouches for them. It is my opinion that this is the second biggest mistake of the war to date, with the first one being the Provisional Coalition Authority disbanding the Army in 2003.

We give the option to allow the IA to obtain a warrant ahead of time. But, as we have never done this before, the rules of releasing are being written as we go, which frustrates the IA. What worked last month may not work this month. We make the IA adhere to rules, like you can't re-detain without a valid warrant, but we don't really describe what warrants are valid, as there are many different courts and types of warrants here in Iraq. Ironic we now enforce these rules, as for six years we detained people with no legal process.

I guess you can do that when you win.

Make no mistake: We are putting some bad dudes back out on the street. I don't think that is right either. Maybe a better way would have been to show the IA how a legal system is supposed to work and put the detainees through an efficient judicial system that determines guilt or innocence. I think we took the easy way out on this one, in an effort to make it go away quickly, and the Iraqis will end up paying the price.

Again-- These are my opinions, not the Army's official position. It has been a frustrating week, having to explain this continual change in process to my counterparts, especially when I don't think it is right. This is what I call selling sand to the Iraqis.

Hope you are well-- thanks for reading.

Ron