26 May 2004
CPA Report: Kimmitt Says Innocent Iraqis Not Held in Detention
Threats to Iraq security are rightfully detained
General Mark Kimmitt, Deputy Director for Coalition Operations, said the coalition forces have a "moral responsibility" to detain people who pose security threats to Iraq.
"We are not holding innocent personnel in detention," Kimmitt said at the CPA briefing in Baghdad May 26.
"These IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices] on the road don't appear by magic. These VBIEDs [Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Devices] don't explode by magic. There are persons in this country who are an imperative security threat to the people of Iraq," said Kimmitt. "These are people who fire rocket-propelled grenades. They fire mortars. They fire small arms. They kill innocent women and children. They kill innocent Iraqi people. They kill innocent coalition forces."
Kimmitt said just as threatening as the actual fighters are those people who staff the terrorist infrastructure.
"When these people are found building bombs in their houses; when these people are found counterfeiting money and passing that money on to terrorist groups; when these people facilitate terrorist groups so they can go out and drive VBIEDs into Karbala, into Khalidiya, into the 14th Street Bridge, into Assassin's Gate, outside the convention center; we have a responsibility -- a moral responsibility -- to ensure those people are put in detention until they no longer are a security threat to the people of Iraq," said Kimmitt.
Kimmitt said the coalition forces detain people according to the guidelines laid down in the Geneva Conventions.
"That is a clear guideline established by the Geneva Conventions for the forces that are conducting operations inside any country. If it is determined that they are an imminent threat to the security of this nation, then we have not only the authority, but the obligation to detain them, to keep them off the streets, to ensure that they're not out killing their fellow Iraqis," Kimmitt said.
Kimmitt stated that detainees at Abu Ghraib are not sentenced to detainment for a certain period of time and they are not proven innocent through a trial.
"They are deemed to be a security threat by a judge through multiple sources of evidence. If they were innocent, they wouldn't be at Abu Ghraib," said Kimmitt.
A review board looks over all cases to decide whether or not detainees are currently deemed a security threat. Those people who are not seen as a threat by the panel will be released.
"On Friday there will be a release of between 550 and 600 detainees from Abu Ghraib," said Kimmitt.
Kimmitt also briefed on new developments for Iraq security.
"Today, 156 former regime police officers graduated from the three-week Transition Integration Program course in Mosul," said Kimmitt.
To date, 14,628 police officers have been retrained through the TIP training course, which reinforces democratic policing methods, emphasizes respect for the rule of law and stresses professional standards of conduct said Kimmitt.
Kimmitt also added that in Najaf during the night of May 25, coalition forces captured a key Muqtada militia leadership target, Said Riyad al-Nouri. He is being handed over to Iraqi authorities to comply with an outstanding warrant for his arrest in connection with the murder of Ayatollah Abdul Majid al-Khoei in April 2003
Dan Senor, Senior Advisor of the Coalition Provisional Authority, spoke about attacks on the oil infrastructure and how the CPA is working to save an important Iraq resource.
"There was virtually no maintenance put into the system, so this equipment was chronically under-invested in for decades. We're working on improving it, and we are doing our best. And we think we are on track to continue the upward trend we've been on. But from time to time, there will be setbacks when attacks occur, and we are dealing with equipment and infrastructure that is in very poor shape because of the way it was taken care of under the former regime, " said Senor.
General Kimmitt said that the investigation into the killing of Nicholas Berg continues and that two men are still in custody for involvement with the murder. CPA has made the investigation one of its top priorities.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=May&x=20040526185606rekcolb0.2526514&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
