An Unexpected Headline...

...can be found over this surprising story from Knight-Ridder:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops' discovery of 173 mostly Sunni Arab men beaten and malnourished in a secret Interior Ministry jail has sent a jolt of optimism through Baghdad's disaffected Sunni minority.

"This is like a dream - the American forces free Iraqi prisoners tortured by the government?" said Huthayfa Mohammed, 20, a Sunni Arab who can't find his brother after Iraqi police detained him. "This is brand new."
<...>
Like Mohammed, much of the Sunni Arab minority has taken heart in the recent discovery, which was announced Tuesday. The idea that the U.S. military may be trying to help the Sunnis has given them an instant boost in confidence that the parliamentary elections in December could make them players in the next government.
<...>
The U.S. military's discovery of the men is "an indication that the Americans would like to show the Iraqis how they are really trying to handle the whole situation in an even-handed policy and make them feel more confident in the American policy," said Dr. Hassan Bazzaz, a Sunni professor of political science and international affairs at Baghdad University.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Tuesday the prisoners were found malnourished and possibly tortured by government security forces at a Baghdad lockup. He has launched an Iraqi-led investigation with U.S. assistance.
<...>
Meanwhile, Iraq's acting human rights minister, Nermin Othman Hassan, said the ministry was aware of a number of claims of torture and abuse at detention centers and that a number of investigations had already been launched

"It was not only shocking for us -- it made me angry, its not only a surprise, its a danger, they must do something very quickly to punish those that are involved," she said.

"We are focusing on building a new Iraq -- this is opposite to our strategy, when we are speaking about democracy and human rights, those things must not be done."