Qualla: Fort Suse

Fort Suse: Introduction

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In its first life, Fort Suse was a barracks. In its second, a United Nations demining facility. In its third, an American detention center built to ease the shame of Abu Ghraib. In its fourth, an Iraqi prison. Each transformation tells a chapter of modern Iraq's turbulent history. Built in 1977 by Russian engineers near Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region, this military installation has been repurposed so many times that its original function feels like ancient history, though it is barely half a century old.

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Fort Suse: From Barracks to Holding Cells

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Fort Suse's conversion to a detention facility in 2005 was driven by crisis. The Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal had made that facility's name synonymous with American military failure, and the coalition needed alternatives. At a cost of $8 million, civilian contractors supervi...

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Fort Suse: A Rotating Cast of Guards

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The facility's guard force evolved rapidly. The 1st Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division provided the initial security, with the 82nd Military Police Battalion supervising detainee operations and medics from the 101st Airborne providing medical care. B...

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Fort Suse: Votes, Escapes, and the Transfer

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On December 12, 2005, Fort Suse witnessed an improbable scene: nearly 90 percent of eligible security detainees participated in the democratic vote on the Iraqi National Ballot. People held behind wire for security offenses were casting ballots to shape the government of the coun...

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Fort Suse: Under Iraqi Authority

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The handover came on September 22, 2006. Fort Suse became an Iraqi-run prison with a maximum capacity of 1,500 inmates, receiving its first prisoners on November 19 of that year. Unlike its American incarnation, which held security detainees awaiting judicial process, the Iraqi f...

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