The U.S. military will
close Abu Ghraib prison within three months, the Washington Post Reports. As one gate to hell closes, too many more remain open. The abuse at that prison did not begin at Abu Ghraib; as was detailed by Emily Bazelon in
Mother Jones last year (diaried
here by SusanHu), the culture of abuse and maltreatment began in the prisons of Afghanistan. Instead of disciplining the soldiers who committed atrocities in that war, the military sent them to Iraq. The abuse at Abu Ghraib then is not some self-contained phenomenon of "bad apples" that can be eradicated by closing up shop and moving elsewhere. Rather, the seeds of abuse have been planted in prisons and detention centers throughout the world.
In Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, as reported on Feb. 26, 2006, the abuse rivals that of Abu Ghraib and Gitmo:
From the accounts of former detainees, military officials and soldiers who served [at the Bagram detention site in Afghanistan], a picture emerges of a place that is in many ways rougher and more bleak than its counterpart in Cuba. Men are held by the dozen in large wire cages, the detainees and military sources said, sleeping on the floor on foam mats and, until about a year ago, often using plastic buckets for latrines. Before recent renovations, they rarely saw daylight except for brief visits to a small exercise yard.
"Bagram was never meant to be a long-term facility, and now it's a long-term facility without the money or resources," said one Defense Department official who has toured the detention center. Comparing the prison with Guantánamo, the official added, *"Anyone who has been to Bagram would tell you it's worse."*
At Bagram Air Base, detainees suffer through mock executions and sexual humilation. In Camp X-Ray, detainees are released only to report torture that would make Lyndie England look saintly. The crimes of Abu Ghraib are being committed beyond that prison's walls. And the sad reality is that shutting down Abu Ghraib does not wash the blood off our hands, nor does it wipe the shame off our souls.
Update: To clarify, Abu Ghraib is being closed down and the facility handed back to the Iraqi government. The prisoners will be moved to a new facility in Iraq.