U.S. Raises Doubts Over Iraq Prison Control

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5506379,00.html

U.S. Raises Doubts Over Iraq Prison Control

By BARRY SCHWEID
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration suggested Tuesday that prisons in Iraq where hundreds of detainees apparently were abused may not have been under the control of the central government in Baghdad.

And, while the central government, with U.S. help, is trying to take charge of these ``nominal prisons'' the problem has not been solved, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said.

``We and the Iraqi government continue to have concern about the way prisoners are treated,'' the spokesman said.

Ereli's statement acknowledged weakness in the Iraqi government, but also credited it with trying to address a problem that undercuts the administration's case that reform is taking hold since the toppling of President Saddam Hussein.