From Mudville Gazette:
Discovery of prisoners heartens Iraq’s Sunni minority
By Leila Fadel and Mohammed al Dulaimy
Knight Ridder Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops’ discovery of 173 mostly Sunni Arab men beaten and malnourished in a secret Interior Ministry jail has sent a jolt of optimism through Baghdad’s disaffected Sunni minority.
“This is like a dream – the American forces free Iraqi prisoners tortured by the government?” said Huthayfa Mohammed, 20, a Sunni Arab who can’t find his brother after Iraqi police detained him. “This is brand new.”
Like Mohammed, much of the Sunni Arab minority has taken heart in the recent discovery, which was announced Tuesday. The idea that the U.S. military may be trying to help the Sunnis has given them an instant boost in confidence that the parliamentary elections in December could make them players in the next government.
The U.S. military’s discovery of the men is “an indication that the Americans would like to show the Iraqis how they are really trying to handle the whole situation in an even-handed policy and make them feel more confident in the American policy,” said Dr. Hassan Bazzaz, a Sunni professor of political science and international affairs at Baghdad University.
Of course, this is old news to you, right? Because of all the coverage it’s been getting, I mean.