Bitterness apparent as U.S. releases Iraqi prisoners

AP

Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers

..."He never prayed in a Husseiniyah," she said, referring to Shiite places of worship, "or in a mosque, and he doesn't get involved in anyone's business." The tears began to flow. The Americans divided Iraqis, she said, by accusing all Sunnis of being insurgents and all Shiites of being aligned with militias. "I swear to God I didn't recognize people as Sunni or Shiite until after the collapse," she said, referring to the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. "Our lives are full of injustice. ...God willing all the detainees will be released," she said. "We tasted bitterness, no salaries— we have nothing. We suffered so much." As his wife wept outside, Amin was inside, preparing to be released. U.S. soldiers cut the plastic cuffs from his wrists. He and the other detainees were asked to sign a "reconciliation oath...

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Iraq's Present ... Our Future?

balconesfault, Daily Kos

...You get near the bottom of the piece, and it tells you that to be released, each detainee ... remember, these are detainees who apparently have never faced any charges ... must recite the following reconciliation oath: "I, Mohammed Amin , acknowledge the recent signing of the reconciliation agreement, have ushered in an era of peace and partnership between Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish, Christian, Jaysh al Mahdi (the Mahdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr ), Iraqi security forces and American forces," he said. "Based on a review of my arrest record, Iraqi government and coalition force leaders have agreed that my immediate release would be beneficial to the reconciliation process. I pledge not to commit any violation of the reconciliation agreement's 12 points, violate Iraqi law or attack coalition forces." And I think to myself - that's the next step in holding power. Detain people without charge. Force them to make a legally binding oath, committing themselves to refrain from opposing the government, in order to be released. If any of them actually do participate in rallies, etc in the future, you arrest them on the basis of violating their oath....

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