May I speak to the concierge?
It’s easy for people to question their sanity before choosing to come to Iraq.
Given a choice between 1. Traveling to a war zone, or 2. Doing just about anything else, most people choose the latter.
Society will never judge anyone as crazy for not going to Iraq. Those who choose to go do the “Am I crazy?” self-examination at the terminal, on the flight and during the first night’s stay. After that, the absurdity of the situation takes over. You never ask yourself if something you’re doing in Iraq is crazy because, well, everything here is nuts.
This is why my sanity alarm never went off when I gave up the first private room with a clean shower I’ve had since arriving in Iraq, for the opportunity to experience luxury accommodations at the Abu Ghraib detention facility (slogan – you’ll come for the jihad, but you’ll stay for the 24-hour Photo Mart.)
No, I was not an inmate; although some of the guards probably would have happily dragged me around in a dog collar and pointed at unkosher places while smoking a cigarette – but you have to pay extra for that kind of treatment.
I stayed at a nearby location and toured the prison during a massive prisoner release that U.S. and Iraqi officials consider a conciliatory gesture ahead of Ramadan. The official thinking is thus, provided by Iraq’s deputy prime minister: “These people are messengers of the good treatment they have received here. This release will build bridges of understanding between the coalition and different Iraqi groups.”
This is partially true. U.S. servicemembers expect a flurry of “messages of understanding” before the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, most of which will drop out of the sky and explode. A few more care packages will be placed alongside the road, a token of appreciation for their “good treatment.”
The official line from the U.S. government was also handcrafted by the Pentagon in Bizarroworld. Review boards have determined that none of the 900 or so prisoners released were guilty of any violent crimes, according to the top brass. Meanwhile, one soldier told me that about a week ago, a guy they accidentally released was actually a sniper with three confirmed kills. And while the U.S. does pick up a lot of people in sweeps that probably aren’t guilty of anything, many get released from local detention facilities before being transported to places like Abu Ghraib.
Many people who first visit Abu Ghraib are surprised. They imagine a fortified concrete compound, or something that looks like a modern prison. It’s actually a lot of tents, gates and barbed wire sprawling over 280 acres of dirt. Most of the prisoners share tents. Others are in reasonably spacious accommodations that still amount to cages.
When a reporter asked about prisoner treatment, the Iraqi deputy prime minister said, “Prison isn’t supposed to be fun. Have you been in a prison? I’ve been in prison for political reasons. It wasn’t fun.”
Many of the detainees are well aware of the focus brought by Lynndie England and company on the prison. They will walk around with their Korans in hand and shoes off. The juvenile detainees will shout, “I want to go to school! We are missing school!” in Arabic to passing reporters, as if 15-year-olds in any nation on earth actually want to go to school. I can’t imagine any of their parents putting, “My son made the honor roll at Abu Ghraib detention facility” bumper stickers on their cars.
The prisoners also act differently whenever an Islamic cleric gets detained, a military policeman told me Saturday.
“The prisoners don’t like the halal food because it’s too bland. They ask us for our MREs.”
For the non-military folks, MREs are meals-ready-to-eat, chemically heated food in a bag that stores for several years.
“When an imam gets arrested,” he said, “suddenly everyone is praying five times a day. It stops again when the imam leaves.
“A lot of Iraqis are like that. They act one way when we’re around, because they know we’ve got the money to support them and they don’t want to offend us. But once we leave, they go back to their old ways 20 seconds later. If we leave the country, that’s exactly what they’re going to do.”
If this country is ever going to join the 21st Century, it will be the doing of a select upper-middle class that decided it’s in their best interests, much like the American revolution. Otherwise, all of the U.S. prodding in the world won’t make a difference. Because after a while, the folks who are asked to come back to Iraq won’t bother asking themselves the sanity question. They’ll pop open a beer, turn on a football game and stay home. Who could blame them?
Given a choice between 1. Traveling to a war zone, or 2. Doing just about anything else, most people choose the latter.
Society will never judge anyone as crazy for not going to Iraq. Those who choose to go do the “Am I crazy?” self-examination at the terminal, on the flight and during the first night’s stay. After that, the absurdity of the situation takes over. You never ask yourself if something you’re doing in Iraq is crazy because, well, everything here is nuts.
This is why my sanity alarm never went off when I gave up the first private room with a clean shower I’ve had since arriving in Iraq, for the opportunity to experience luxury accommodations at the Abu Ghraib detention facility (slogan – you’ll come for the jihad, but you’ll stay for the 24-hour Photo Mart.)
No, I was not an inmate; although some of the guards probably would have happily dragged me around in a dog collar and pointed at unkosher places while smoking a cigarette – but you have to pay extra for that kind of treatment.
I stayed at a nearby location and toured the prison during a massive prisoner release that U.S. and Iraqi officials consider a conciliatory gesture ahead of Ramadan. The official thinking is thus, provided by Iraq’s deputy prime minister: “These people are messengers of the good treatment they have received here. This release will build bridges of understanding between the coalition and different Iraqi groups.”
This is partially true. U.S. servicemembers expect a flurry of “messages of understanding” before the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, most of which will drop out of the sky and explode. A few more care packages will be placed alongside the road, a token of appreciation for their “good treatment.”
The official line from the U.S. government was also handcrafted by the Pentagon in Bizarroworld. Review boards have determined that none of the 900 or so prisoners released were guilty of any violent crimes, according to the top brass. Meanwhile, one soldier told me that about a week ago, a guy they accidentally released was actually a sniper with three confirmed kills. And while the U.S. does pick up a lot of people in sweeps that probably aren’t guilty of anything, many get released from local detention facilities before being transported to places like Abu Ghraib.
Many people who first visit Abu Ghraib are surprised. They imagine a fortified concrete compound, or something that looks like a modern prison. It’s actually a lot of tents, gates and barbed wire sprawling over 280 acres of dirt. Most of the prisoners share tents. Others are in reasonably spacious accommodations that still amount to cages.
When a reporter asked about prisoner treatment, the Iraqi deputy prime minister said, “Prison isn’t supposed to be fun. Have you been in a prison? I’ve been in prison for political reasons. It wasn’t fun.”
Many of the detainees are well aware of the focus brought by Lynndie England and company on the prison. They will walk around with their Korans in hand and shoes off. The juvenile detainees will shout, “I want to go to school! We are missing school!” in Arabic to passing reporters, as if 15-year-olds in any nation on earth actually want to go to school. I can’t imagine any of their parents putting, “My son made the honor roll at Abu Ghraib detention facility” bumper stickers on their cars.
The prisoners also act differently whenever an Islamic cleric gets detained, a military policeman told me Saturday.
“The prisoners don’t like the halal food because it’s too bland. They ask us for our MREs.”
For the non-military folks, MREs are meals-ready-to-eat, chemically heated food in a bag that stores for several years.
“When an imam gets arrested,” he said, “suddenly everyone is praying five times a day. It stops again when the imam leaves.
“A lot of Iraqis are like that. They act one way when we’re around, because they know we’ve got the money to support them and they don’t want to offend us. But once we leave, they go back to their old ways 20 seconds later. If we leave the country, that’s exactly what they’re going to do.”
If this country is ever going to join the 21st Century, it will be the doing of a select upper-middle class that decided it’s in their best interests, much like the American revolution. Otherwise, all of the U.S. prodding in the world won’t make a difference. Because after a while, the folks who are asked to come back to Iraq won’t bother asking themselves the sanity question. They’ll pop open a beer, turn on a football game and stay home. Who could blame them?
posted by Erik | 11:12 AM
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