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The War in Iraq: Enemy
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Deja Vu in Iraq Prisons
by James Dunnigan
March 17, 2005
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
American Military Police in Iraq are rediscovering the same problems that were
encountered running wartime prisons for enemy captives since as far back World
War II. While the 9,000 captive Iraqis being held in prisons are not
prisoners-of-war (POWs), and most are released after brief questioning, many are
hard core terrorist types. These thugs tend to get organized, and nasty, even
while locked up.
In Iraq, it’s a replay of World War II, where hard core
Nazis among prisoners, would get organized, terrorize the anti-Nazi, or
indifferent Germans, and carry out attacks on the guards. Same thing with hard
core communists during the Korean and Vietnam war. Now, in Iraq, you have the
Baath Party and Islamic radicals organizing trouble. These fellows have lots of
experience in terrorizing Iraqis, and would use less radical prisoners as cannon
fodder. For example, at prisons like Abu Ghraib, the guards would have to fire
rubber bullets several times a day, just to deal with groups of aggressive
prisoners. Usually a couple of Baath or Islamic toughs using less militant, and
cowed, prisoners, as shields. Guards would regularly sweep prisons for weapons,
and find dozens of homemade nasties. Even with informers among the prison
population, the hard core guys were able to organize large scale violence, and
nearly get riots going once or twice a month. MPs have found that their guard
dogs work very will with prisoners, partly because Arabs, for cultural reasons,
don’t like dogs (which are considered “dirty.”) So the guard dogs are very good
at controlling small groups, but risk getting ripped apart if there’s a large
fracas.
All this is old news to anyone who knows about the very similar
situations dating back to the 1940s. Even though todays prison guards have
closed circuit TV, rubber bullets (and other non-lethal “weapons”), it’s still a
nasty business.
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The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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