Thousands surrendering to allied forces
By Robert Schlesinger and Scott Bernard Nelson, Globe Staff, 3/22/2003
OUTHERN IRAQ - Allied forces advancing into Iraq took thousands of prisoners in the first two days of ground operations, with many of the Iraqi troops giving up without a fight, US military officials said yesterday.
Large numbers of other Iraqi troops also appear to have abandoned their equipment in the desert, following US surrender instructions dropped in leaflets.
The bulk of the prisoners came from the Iraqi 51st Infantry Division, which apparently surrendered en masse to allied forces yesterday. The division was estimated to have 8,000 troops and 200 tanks.
Many of the surrendering conscriptees will be returned to their barracks and warned not to fight anymore for the duration of the war. Detainees deemed to be a potential threat to coalition forces will be taken to central holding locations that are likely to be in Iraq or Kuwait.
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Prisoners in allied custody can expect starkly different treatment than suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters captured in Afghanistan, as the US military will accord the Iraqis protections under the Geneva Conventions that do not extend to the Afghan detainees.
Across the southern portion of the country, Iraqi Army regulars were surrendering to anyone they could find in a military uniform; some even tried to surrender to reporters. By the dozens, they left their vehicles and weapons behind and walked the roads waving white flags or wearing them as headbands or waistbands.
They waived and flashed victory signs as American troops passed, to make sure their intentions weren't misunderstood.
Even some members of the Republican Guard, distinguishable from the regular soldiers because of their distinctive green uniforms, were seen among the hundreds of prisoners being held by coalition troops late yesterday.
The US military has for months been engaged in psychological operations encouraging Iraqi soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender. Those operations have included leaflets giving instructions on how to signal surrender.
Although mass surrenders were common during the 1991 Gulf War, military officials said the plan for dealing with POWs has been honed for this conflict.
''We learned a heck of a lot from the first Gulf War in that tens of thousands of willing POWs ... are a big logistical challenge for you; they actually can slow down combat forces,'' said Army Major Ted Wadsworth, a Pentagon spokesman. ''We're prepared this time, and we are able to allow our forces to move as quickly as they need to move.''
Instructions on how to signal capitulation and avoid being engaged by US forces were that soldiers must disarm, while officers can keep their sidearms to help maintain order. Iraqi soldiers were instructed not to approach coalition forces.
Entire divisions that give up could be disarmed and told to return in their barracks. US military officials have said they plan to employ Iraqi armed forces after the war to help rebuild the country.
Those Iraqi POWs who are taken into custody will be quickly handed over to military police specially trained in handling prisoners of war, Wadsworth said. Medical care will be administered and the prisoners searched.
The officers will be sorted from the enlisted men and the groups will be moved to the confinement areas. All of this will take place under the watchful eye of the International Red Cross. Spokesman Florian Westphal said yesterday the agency was awaiting word about prisoners of war.
Once the war is over, the prisoners will be repatriated, unlike the Al Qaeda suspects being held at the US facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The difference, military officials said, is that the Iraqis meet four conditions qualifying them as prisoners of war under the 1949 Geneva Convention governing the treatment of captives.
The conditions are that they must be part of a command structure, must wear military uniforms, must openly carry their weapons, and must ''conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the laws of war,'' Wadsworth said.
Iraqi television today said that President Saddam Hussein issued a statement pledging to respect the rights of prisoners of war. ''Iraq, out of respect for itself and its humanity ... will respect the prisoners of war of the enemy whom we capture,'' said the statement read on Iraqi television. ''We will respect their rights according to the Geneva Convention.''
When the United States announced that Al Qaeda suspects - who did not wear uniforms - would be treated as ''unlawful combatants,'' it sparked a controversy because they were denied the rights of prisoners of war but have little immediate prospect of being tried as criminals.
''Prior to Guantanamo, the theory was there were basically two categories of detainees: that you were either detained by the criminal justice system under which ... there was a fixed procedure for adjudication of your just fate, or that you were a prisoner of war, in which case you were basically to be detained according to the Geneva Conventions and repatriated after the war,'' said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank.
''The problem with this new unlawful combatant category is this war against terrorism will never end, and unlike an indicted criminal, there's no trial.''
Iraqi forces may also benefit from being part of a war broadcast globally on television.
''Early on, we want as many pictures as possible of happy prisoners eating happy meals and smiling for the cameras,'' said Ian Cuthbertson, director of the World Policy Institute's Counter-Terrorism Project and a former military policeman in the British Army.
Robert Schlesinger reported from Washington; Scott Bernard Nelson reported from southern Iraq. Schlesinger can be reached at schlesinger@globe.com. Material from wire services also was used in this report.
This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 3/22/2003.
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