Senators seek demolition of Iraqi prison

[cal04]

A bipartisan group of senators is urging the Pentagon to demolish the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in order to exorcise a symbol of both Saddam Hussein's torture chambers and an embarrassing episode for the U.S. military.
The Baghdad prison is the focus of a controversy over treatment of Iraqi prisoners by their U.S. captors.
"I think we ought to raze that prison," Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, told reporters Wednesday evening after his panel heard testimony from CIA and Defense Department officials about physical and sexual abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
"I think we ought to take it down -- take the damn thing down," said Roberts, who also serves on the Armed Services Committee.
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, who first floated the proposal of tearing down the prison to colleagues this week, told CNN that he believes such a move would send a strong signal to the international community that America is ready to "put it all behind us" and begin the healing process.

"We have to send a message here to the world," said Nelson, who said he has received positive feedback from several colleagues on the Armed Services panel.

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[Caution]

1. yeh real friggin smart

gee what do you think everyone in the middle east would say to that?

"They are destroying the prison to cover up the crimes that were committed there."

[Mattforclark]

2. Don't erase history

turn it into a museum as quickly as possible. Highlight both the evils that took place under Saddam and the evils that took place under Bush.

[LittleApple81]

3. The building as a symbol should go down. But I am sure

the new one will have sensors to avoid cameras.

[fryguy]

4. symbolically its a nice gesture, but....

...it won't make any difference in the treatment of the prisoners unless something is done about the training and supervision of the soldiers guarding them....

....in addition, if the prison is torn down a new one will have to be built - sounds like another no-bid contract will be heading toward Haliburton.....

[bif]

5. Why not? We've bombed just about everything else.

Why not the prison, too.