President Bush promised to destroy Abu Ghraib, the symbol, in his words, of "death and torture" under Hussein, and "disgraceful conduct" under Bush. He would do so "with the approval of the Iraqi government." If we are indeed transferring "full sovereignty" to the people of Iraq, why are we telling them what they should do with this symbol? Perhaps the Iraqi people would prefer to keep the prison, to allow future generations to walk its halls, to see the chambers of horrors for themselves--a place where families can see where their loved ones were tortured or killed. We have been very keen on removing evidence of the sadder parts of our own history, namely slavery--we should not take it upon ourselves to erase such evidence for other people's history, simply because it reminds them of our own "disgraceful conduct."
Bush:
"Under the dictator, prisons like Abu Ghraib were symbols of death and torture. That same prison became a symbol of disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values. America will fund the construction of a modern, maximum security prison. When that prison is completed, detainees at Abu Ghraib will be relocated. Then, with the approval of the Iraqi government, we will demolish the Abu Ghraib prison, as a fitting symbol of Iraq's new beginning."