As Ramadan wraps up, the U.S. military in Iraq says in the past four weeks it has released some 2,400 detainees from facilities in that country.
The releases are part of an increased effort to move detainees out of the U.S. system, mainly by releasing those who are deemed no longer a threat and who make pledges of nonviolence.
Since the beginning of the year, some 14,150 detainees have been released from the system, leaving the detainee population at around 18,000. The high-water mark for detainees in U.S. custody was 26,000 in November 2007.
According to figures the military released Tuesday, the number of releases has far outstripped the number of new detainees.
Over the past week, for example, there was an average of 130 people released each day. During the same time frame, an average of 29 per day were "in-processed."
"These are not mass releases, but fair releases," Brig. Gen. David Quantock, deputy commander of Task Force 134, said in a news release. "We’ve increased the number of Multi-National Force Review Committee boards to responsibly release those who have completed their detention."
The U.S. detention system has shifted drastically since the days of Abu Ghraib. The focus now is on counterinsurgency operations within the detention facilities themselves, along with education, vocational and religious programs.
Released detainees must first go through a program called Tanweer, or "enlightenment."
"The internees discuss civics, the new Iraqi government, reintegration with their families and communities, and can participate in small group discussions with Iraqi clerics and Iraqi social workers to learn more about Islam and the teachings of the Quran in the classes," said Quantock.
In recent weeks, officials with the task force in charge of detainees have sought to reassure U.S. troops that the releases have been carefully considered.
"We must also be confident that our process for release ensures the protection and security of the citizens in the communities that these detainees return to, so our processes must be responsible and deliberate," Quantock said.
