House votes to destroy Iraqi prison

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Registered: 03-23-2003
House votes to destroy Iraqi prison
4
Thu, 05-20-2004 - 7:58pm

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1153&slug=Prisoner%20Abuse%20Prison


Thursday, May 20, 2004 · Last updated 3:37 p.m. PT


House votes to destroy Iraqi prison


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.

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Avatar for baileyhouse
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 05-20-2004 - 11:37pm
Yeah, I guess it's the building that's evil..not the people occupying it.


Edited 5/20/2004 11:40 pm ET ET by baileyhouse
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Registered: 08-12-2003
Fri, 05-21-2004 - 8:49am

Exactly. The prisoners aren't going to become "un-criminals" just by changing what building they're in.


I actually think

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Registered: 03-18-2000
Fri, 05-21-2004 - 11:56am

The demolition of the prison would be a strong symbolic gesture. Sending a message that this is

 


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Avatar for baileyhouse
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Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 05-21-2004 - 1:08pm
Actually I was referring to those running it(US and Saddam)not the prisoneers although I'm sure they did have some true insurgents in there but their stupidity lost them the right to hold them.


Edited 5/21/2004 1:09 pm ET ET by baileyhouse