Prisoners of Incompetence

As part of the Abu Ghraib scandal (remember that?), we learned that the better part of the Iraqis held in custody were being held for no good reason. In addition, we've learned recently that wives of suspected insurgents have been held to persuade their husbands to talk. Why are we still keeping these people in jail? And why aren't we doing more to release women in particular when we know that they've been detained unjustly to begin with? And why aren't more Americans seething with outrage over this whole mess?

U.S. Forces to Release 50 Iraqi Detainees

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. forces will release about 50 Iraqi detainees Sunday but no women are among them, the military said. The freeing of women is a demand by the kidnappers of American journalist Jill Carroll.

U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said the Iraqis are being released as part of a routine review of their cases.

The detention of Iraqi women has become a contentious issue, particularly since the Jan. 7 kidnapping of Carroll in Baghdad. Her kidnappers have threatened to kill her unless all Iraqi women are freed from custody.

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