Afghanistan and Iraq Wars
The United States has refused to grant prisoner-of-war status to many prisoners captured during its 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq. The legality of this refusal has been questioned and cases are pending in the US courts. A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision seems to have given all prisoners under US control POW status. This is under dispute. Other captives, including Saddam Hussein, have been accorded POW status. The International Red Cross has been permitted to visit at least some sites. It has been alleged that many prisoners are held in secret locations or by friendly governments. Known sites include:
- Abu Ghraib prison – 32 km west of Baghdad, Iraq
- Bagram Air Base – near Charikar in Parvan, Afghanistan
- Camp Bucca – near Umm Qasr, Iraq
- Camp Delta – Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Read more about this topic: Prisoner-of-war Camp
Famous quotes containing the word wars:
“... the trouble is that most people in this country think that we can stay out of wars in other parts of the world. Even if we stay out of it and save our own skins, we cannot escape the conditions which will undoubtedly exist in other parts of the world and which will react against us.... We are all of us selfish ... and if we can save our own skins, the rest of the world can go. The best we can do is to realize nobody can save his own skin alone. We must all hang together.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)