Bush Administration Seeks to Hold Iraqis in Violation of Prior United Nations Agreement

The Bush Administration appears intent to go out on a low note. The United States has asked for as many as 15,000 Iraqi prisoners to be held without charge in Iraq even though the authority to hold the prisoners expired at the beginning of the New Year. I discussed the plan as well as the investigation of war crimes on Rachel Maddow in this segment.

The United States has been holding prisoners without charge under the authority of a U.N. Security Council resolution which expired on December 31. Under an international agreement taking effect on January 1st, the Bush Administration had agreed that all of its prisoners would be transfered to Iraqi custody for criminal charges or or freed “in a safe and orderly manner.”

U.S. military spokesman Major Neal Fisher now says that the Bush Administration wants the prisoners held without charge in violation of both the pact and Iraqi law. It appears that the Administration is seeking to shape its Iraqi government in its own image — asserting absolute
authority to disregard both international and domestic laws.

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