Prisons in Iraq do the opposite of their intended purpose

Perhaps the most damaging element to Iraq's long-term security is, ironically, its prison system. The U.S.-run detention centers are full of petty criminals and plenty of innocents who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, mixed in with hardened insurgents and the occasional terrorist. Much like other ill-conceived prison systems, Iraq's detention infrastructure has become a training ground and recruitment center for violent action.

Ned Parker of the LA Times explains:

U.S.-run detention camps in Iraq have become a breeding ground for extremists where Islamic militants recruit and train supporters, and use violence against perceived foes, say former inmates and Iraqi officials. . . Iraqis swept up in security operations and held indefinitely while the Americans try to determine whether they have any links to the insurgency are susceptible to the extremists' message, former detainees said. . . "It looks like a terrorist academy now," said Saad Sultan, the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry's liaison to U.S. and Iraqi prisons.

The policy of mass round-ups works on a very localized level, in that there are fewer fighting-age males to deal with. But from a strategic perspective, it's an absolute disaster. We engender a hatred towards the occupation and our troops while simultaneously offering insurgents access to Iraqis when they are most susceptible to recruitment. According to the article, there are now 18,000 Iraqis in U.S. custody, many of whom wait for up to two years for any kind of judicial process. The most mind-blowing part of the piece, though, is this:

U.S. military officials acknowledge that they are battling militants for the hearts and minds of detainees

Uh, no -- if you're incarcerating somebody, either he 1) was an insurgent and already hates the U.S. or 2) didn't do anything wrong and hates the U.S. for wrongfully imprisoning him . . . and is probably now ready and willing to seek revenge. When you throw somebody in jail, I think it's safe to say that you've lost the hearts and minds battle. The idea that we'll get any detainee to like us while in custodyis pretty insane. Naturally, the U.S. reportedly has no strategy for dealing with this problem and leaders are "in denail."