Camp Bucca
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Camp Bucca has been described as playing an important role in shaping the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The detention of large numbers of Jihadists and ex-Ba'athists during the Iraqi insurgency provided them with the opportunity to forge alliances and learn from each other, combining the ideological fervour of the former with the organizational skills of the latter. Former Camp Bucca detainees who went on to become leaders in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant include Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, detained between 2005 and 2010 during the Iraq conflict and who is now an ISIS senior leader, its chief spokesman and is said to be running the entire country of Syria. Al-Adnani, in 2014, called for lone wolf attacks throughout the world and is thought to be the inspiration for terrorist attacks throughout France. He was killed in an airstrike in Northern Syria on 31 August 2016. Others include Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIL; Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, al-Baghdadi's deputy; Haji Bakr, who spearheaded ISIL's expansion into Syria; Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi, the military leader responsible for planning the seizure of Mosul; and Abu Ayman al-Iraqi, another senior military leader. Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who founded the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, was also a Camp Bucca detainee." --Sholem Stein |
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Camp Bucca (Template:Lang-ar) was a detention facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. As of June 2011, a group of entrepreneurial Iraqis and Americans are re-building Camp Bucca as Basra Gateway, a logistic center. The facility was initially called Camp Freddy and used by British Forces to hold Iraqi prisoners of war. After being taken over by the U.S. military (800th Military Police Brigade) in April 2003, it was renamed after Ronald Bucca, a NYC Fire Marshal who died in the 11 September 2001 attacks.
Camp Bucca was built on a site where before the tallest structure of Iraq, a 492 metres high TV mast stood, which might have been used for propaganda TV to Iran.
After the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, many detainees from Abu Ghraib were transferred to Camp Bucca. After a substantial turn-over in the chain of command at Camp Bucca and substantial amendments to camp policy, the US military held up Camp Bucca as an example of how a model detention facility should be run. A majority of the detainees were reportedly housed in cinder block housing units with wooden roofing rather than tents, while other detainees were held in hasty tent compounds until 2009.. Cigarettes, tea, and the opportunity to listen to radio and T.V. programs were used as incentives for good behavior. Some detainees were allowed family visitation from Iraqi relatives not held at the facility. Detainees were provided the opportunity for basic education including reading, writing (both English and Arabic), arithmetic, basic geography and art. Detainees organized and administered their own classes in subjects like literacy and religion, and competed in soccer matches. Soccer matches were encouraged to attempt to promote cooperation and trust between every aspect involved in the camp.
Additionally, the internment facility had its own U.S. Army run hospital to serve detainees. It offered comprehensive healthcare. There was an emergency room, internal medicine clinic, optometry clinic, psychiatric services, orthopedic/surgical unit, physical therapy clinic, pharmacy, dental clinic, dietary services and more. Detainees were screened by medics and doctors at the wire, that was right out where the detainees are housed, and then triaged to the hospital for further care. Some detainees were flown to larger medical facilities in Iraq to receive cataract surgery. U.S. Army medical staff was also given training on how to provide care while respecting Muslim traditions.
Militants regularly launched rockets into Camp Bucca. The rockets are widely believed to be often provided and set up by Iranians who teach the militants to launch them hours after they've returned to their nearby country. The lethal explosions averaged around 5 per month in a period from September 2007 to late April 2008, with the most intense barrage coming during The Ramadan period (October) when 12 aerial bombs (Believed to be stolen from a British camp in nearby al Basrah) landed in a span of 8 days. On 17 September 2009, The US military announced that the base would be closed. In December 2010, the U.S. military handed the base to the government of Iraq, who, on the same day, gave Kufan Group of Iraq a license to invest in the new Basra Gateway, to provide a 21st-century logistics hub for Iraq's port.
Role in the growth of ISIS
Camp Bucca has been described as playing an important role in shaping the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The detention of large numbers of Jihadists and ex-Ba’athists during the Iraqi insurgency provided them with the opportunity to forge alliances and learn from each other, combining the ideological fervour of the former with the organizational skills of the latter. Former Camp Bucca detainees who went on to become leaders in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant include Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, detained between 2005 and 2010 during the Iraq conflict and who is now an ISIS senior leader, its chief spokesman and is said to be running the entire country of Syria. Al-Adnani, in 2014, called for lone wolf attacks throughout the world and is thought to be the inspiration for terrorist attacks throughout France. He was killed in an airstrike in Northern Syria on 31 August 2016. Others include Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIL; Abu Muslim al-Turkmani, al-Baghdadi's deputy; Haji Bakr, who spearheaded ISIL's expansion into Syria; Abu Abdulrahman al-Bilawi, the military leader responsible for planning the seizure of Mosul; and Abu Ayman al-Iraqi, another senior military leader. Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who founded the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, was also a Camp Bucca detainee.
See also
