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15-03-09 Prison for Iraq's Worst Prisoners Prepares to Close

A distinct vibe emanates from behind the 15-ft.-high chain fences reinforced with rebar and rimmed by razor wire that encircle the so-called "Waterfront" compound at Camp Bucca.It's different from the other compounds in this sprawling 100-acre,open-air U.S detention center close to the Kuwaiti border,the largest in Iraq,which houses a little over 10,000 of the 13,832 detainees currently in U.S custody.In other compounds hundreds of detainees mingle in expansive recreation yards,enjoy access to books,television and chess sets,and aren't locked in at night.There is noise from those sectors;the sound emanating from the Waterfront,however,is silence.The 3,000 inmates confined to the Waterfront are kept in climate-controlled shipping containers with toilet facilities for 18 hours a day.There are about seven detainees per container,and up to 40 are allowed into one of the many recreation yards at any one time."These guys are bad guys;they're the worst of the worst," says Brigadier General David Quantock,the commander of Task Force 134 which oversees the detention system in Iraq.He walks past a handful of detainees playing table tennis."These are the guys the Iraqi government wants." Images Guantanamo