``There's an expansion in the detention operations going on,'' ...

[understandinglife]

Just another little clue that Bush and the neoconsters have no intention of leaving Iraq anytime soon.

US Deploying Paratroopers at Iraq Prisons
By REUTERS

Filed at 6:57 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military will send 700 Army paratroopers to Iraq to help provide security at detention centers, officials said on Wednesday, as it prepares to open a fourth major prison and eventually leave the Abu Ghraib jail, the site of last year's prisoner abuse scandal.

An infantry battalion from the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, will go to Iraq over the next two months on an open-ended deployment to help provide security at the U.S.-run detention facilities, defense officials said.

``There's an expansion in the detention operations going on,'' said Air Force Lt. Col. John Skinner, a Pentagon spokesman on detainee issues.

<clip>

The prisoner population doubled from last fall to this spring amid a series of offensives against the Iraqi insurgency and a greater role by Iraqi security forces.

The U.S. military is enlarging its three main detention facilities in Iraq -- Abu Ghraib on the outskirts of Baghdad, Camp Bucca in the southern desert close to the border with Kuwait, and Camp Cropper near Baghdad international airport, home to ``high-value'' prisoners, officials said.

<clip>

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-iraq-usa-prisons.html?pagewanted=print

"An infantry battalion from the 82nd Airborne Division ...." to guard prisoners -- roger that, Rummy....


Peace.

[H5N1]

1. That doesn't add up

You don't hire a chemical engineer to brew
your cup of coffee, why send guys like this
to guard prisoners. Doesn't add up.

[arcane1]

2. the entire country is a fucking prison

:grr:

[understandinglife]

3. That's my point. An elite paratrooper battalion is not being deployed ...

.... to guard prisoners.

It is a convenient cover, however, for placing an elite airborne group within a short distance of key oil infrastructure sites in Iran.

On your mark, get set ....


Peace.

[hiley]

4. wonder how many Americans

believe rumsfeld?

Rumsfeld braces for more violence in Iraq
Says insurgency could endure ‘for any number of years,’ perhaps until 2017

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:15 p.m. ET June 26, 2005


WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday he anticipates even more violence in Iraq and acknowledged that the insurgency “could go on for any number of years.”

Defeating the insurgency may take as long as 12 years, he said, with Iraqi security forces, not U.S. and foreign troops, taking the lead and finishing the job.

The assessment comes shortly after the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll showing public doubts about the war reaching a high point — with more than half saying that invading Iraq was a mistake.
snip--

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8366705/

[understandinglife]

5. Not enough, or, worse .... thank you for linking this important article.

Peace.

[hiley]

6. What is Rumsfeld up to in Latin America?

Rumsfeld, in Latin America, Voices Democracy Concerns
Bolvia Is Focus of Appeals for Regional Help
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 17, 2005; A08

ASUNCION, Paraguay, Aug. 16 -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, arriving in this South American capital Tuesday, said countries in the region should help strengthen democracy in Bolivia and suggested that governments in Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in Bolivia in "unhelpful ways."
snip--
"Any time you see issues involving stability in a country, it is something that one wishes would be resolved in a democratic, peaceful way," Rumsfeld told reporters en route to Paraguay.

"There certainly is evidence that both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways."

snip--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/16/AR2005081601288_pf.html

[hiley]

7. What is the U.S. Military Doing in Paraguay?

What is the U.S. Military Doing in Paraguay?
By Benjamin Dangl

08/04/05 "ICH" - - The U.S. military is conducting secretive operations in Paraguay and reportedly building a new base here.
Human rights groups and military analysts in the region believe trouble is brewing. However, the U.S. embassy in Paraguay denies the base exists and describes the military activity as routine. According to an article in the Bolivian newspaper, El Deber, a U.S. base is being developed in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay, 200 kilometers from the border with Bolivia. The base will permit the landing of large aircraft and is capable of housing up to 16,000 troops. A contingent of 500 U.S. troops arrived in Paraguay on July 1st with planes, weapons, equipment and ammunition.
snip--
On May 26, 2005 the Paraguayan senate approved the entrance of the troops, granting them total immunity, free from Paraguayan and International Criminal Court jurisdiction. The legislature is due to expire in December 2006, but is automatically extendable. Since December 2004, the U.S. has been pressuring Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Paraguay into signing a deal which would grant immunity to U.S. military. The Bush administration threatened to deny the countries up to $24.5 million in economic and military aid if they refused to sign the deal. Paraguay was the only country to accept the offer. (2)

US Embassy Denies Base Claims, Rumsfeld Looks Forward to Military Cooperation
snip---
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9677.htm

[understandinglife]

8. Yes, Hiley, these are the actions so few are even aware ....

.... and most would want not to know ....

That is the problem ....


Peace.

[jsamuel]

9. That is where the Fired General is from... hmmm....

[OneBlueSky]

10. ya know . . . some day all of those detainees are going to get out . . .

well, most of them, one would hope . . . and when they do, there's gonna be many, many thousands of REALLY pissed off people running around . . . and more than a few will no doubt be seeking revenge for what was done to them . . .

[FreedomAngel82]

11. This is why

we have to gain back the House and Senate and prove Bush stole both elections and that way we can impeach his ass!

[understandinglife]

12. "My fellow Americans -- 'We The People....Have No Clothes'"

In this new post, I expand on why I think this news item is important:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4385436&mesg_id=4385436


Peace.