Abu Ghraib By Any Other Name

    The Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, notorious for its mistreatment of detainees will re-open under new management and with a new name soon (H/T: Crooks and Liars). Because of course the name Abu Ghraib is what bred the problem in the first place.

    NY Times:

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq will reopen the notorious Abu Ghraib prison next month, but it’s getting a facelift and a new name, a senior justice official said Saturday.

The heavily fortified compound of gray, stonewalled buildings and watchtowers has come to symbolize American abuse of some prisoners captured in Iraq after photos were released showing U.S. soldiers sexually humiliating inmates at the facility.

The scandal stoked support for the insurgency and was one of the biggest setbacks to the U.S. military effort to win the peace in Iraq.

The renovated facility will be called Baghdad’s Central Prison because the name Abu Ghraib has left a ”bitter feeling inside Iraqis’ hearts,” deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said.

Given the techniques used there I am sure it isn’t the name leaving that “bitter feeling”, most likely it is the wires attached to their naked bodies, or the chill they feel from being stripped naked.