Iraq's justice system failing; insurgents released repeatedly

"The United States established the Central Criminal Court of Iraq three years ago, envisioning it as a pillar of a new democracy. But like the faltering effort to create effective Iraqi security forces, the system for detaining, charging and trying suspects has instead become another weak link in the rule of law in Iraq, according to an examination of the justice system by The New York Times.
. . . Tens of thousands of detainees have been released by the Americans, often under political pressure from the Iraqis, but American soldiers complain they are apprehending many dangerous insurgents again and again.
. . . A classified Pentagon assessment completed in June of the American effort to strengthen Iraqi justice found one sign of progress: the prosecution of former senior government officials. Everything else, from training judges to building court capacity to minimizing civil rights abuses by Iraqi security forces, had fallen behind, according to the assessment by the National Security Council."

source
The New York Times. Iraq’s Legal System Staggers Beneath the Weight of War. December 17, 2006.

song: Iraq, Iraq

posted: tuesday, december 19, 2006, 9:59 AM ET
update: tuesday, december 19, 2006, 10:08 AM ET

iraq criminal justice system