Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Of Note

Michael J Totten is back in Iraq and giving a bug's eye view of the situation there. He also notes
that one of his stories about the horrid conditions in an Iraqi prison he visited prompted a military investigation into the matter.

Last month I published a piece here called The Dungeon of Fallujah about my visit to the wretched jail in the city. As it turns out, the place was worse than I thought. Prisoners had to supply their own food or starve. I didn't report that detail because I didn't know it. But Marine Major General John Kelly (whom I don't think I met) read my report, investigated the jail, and fixed it. No one in the military talked to me about this.
The UPI did a short piece on the investigation and cited Michael Totten's blog as being the impetus of the investigation.

Kelly's visit followed a report on conditions at the jail by independent journalist Michael Totten. Totten found a facility built to hold 120 prisoners housing 900 without even minimal provision for sanitation or hygiene.

Michael Totten relies heavily on reader donations to support his trips to Iraq so please drop by and see if you think his work is worth a couple of bucks.