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Iraq Transition

Jail inspection finds 'number of problems'

Bush notes Iraqi sacrifices as early voting begins

Programming Note: CNN's Anderson Cooper will report live from Iraq this week on the country's historic election. His reports will air at 10 p.m. ET.

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Inspectors found "a number of problems" at a jail housing Iraqi detainees, the nation's Human Rights Ministry said Monday, while a report surfaced of possible torture of some of the inmates.

It's the second allegation in a month of abuses at an Iraqi government jail, and it came to light as prisoners, soldiers and hospital patients began casting early ballots in Thursday's national election for a permanent parliament.

Also Monday, President Bush praised the election and acknowledged that Iraqis have paid a heavy price for the U.S.-led war. (Watch Bush discuss the 'difficult struggle' in Iraq -- 5:11)

"I would say 30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis," Bush said during a speech in Pennsylvania.

"Knowing what I know today, I'd make the decision again," Bush said. "Removing Saddam Hussein makes this world a better place and America a safer country." (Full story)

Source: Signs of torture

The problems at the Iraqi jail were discovered December 8 by a team of Human Rights Ministry inspectors, U.S. military personnel and representatives of several other Iraqi ministries, the Human Rights Ministry said. (Watch abuse allegations at a second Iraqi jail -- 2:24)

"The facility was overcrowded," a ministry statement said. "Thirteen of the detainees were removed from the detention facility to receive medical treatment."

A source from the Iraqi police in Baghdad told CNN that some of the 13 detainees who were hospitalized showed signs of torture -- specifically that they had been beaten with cables and some of them subjected to electric shock.

The ministries of Interior and Human Rights said they "are working together to correct" the problems.

On November 13, U.S. troops discovered an Interior Ministry compound where more than 160 prisoners were being held, some of whom showed signs of torture. (Full story)

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who ordered an investigation into the November discovery, said Monday: "We do not tolerate any violation of human rights for detainees."

During the December 8 visit, inspectors questioned 625 detainees "about their treatment, the quality of services received and their health," the Human Rights Ministry said.

The ministry said 75 detainees were transferred to another facility to relieve crowding, and Iraqi judges released another 56 "directly following the inspection."

The judges, the ministry said, "are working to speed up the release of all those who do not need to be detained."

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill said U.S. forces helped inspect the facility. Neither he nor the Human Rights Ministry officials offered details beyond noting the crowding and that several inmates needed medical attention.

Allegations of detainee abuse threaten to exacerbate political tensions between Shiite Arabs and minority Sunnis in the buildup to the country's election. (Watch Iraqis prepare for historic election -- 2:02)

Sunni leaders have claimed that most of the detainees found at the facility in November were Sunnis -- a claim denied by Iraqi government officials. Sunni politicians have long alleged that Shiite militiamen have infiltrated Iraqi police and have abused Sunni prisoners.

Most Iraqi insurgent attacks have occurred in the so-called Sunni Triangle, where the nation's Sunni population is centered.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, predicted Sunday that large numbers of Sunnis -- including some from the ranks of the insurgency -- would vote.

"That is really the single most important development of the past several months politically," he said. "Sunnis seem to be developing confidence in the political process. They believe that their grievances can be dealt with politically."

In January, Sunnis largely boycotted the election for the transitional National Assembly. When the constitution was ratified in October, more Sunnis voted, and Khalilzad said Sunday that they are a potentially powerful minority bloc.

"They will have some 40 to 55 seats in the next [275-seat] assembly, and in the coalition building that will have to take place they will be important players," Khalilzad said.

As part of security for the election, Iraq closed its international borders and imposed a nighttime curfew around those boundaries, Iraq's interior minister said Sunday.

"The international crossing borders and the borders and passageways for travelers between Iraq and Syria will be closed with the exception of the commercial trucks authorized by the Iraqi government," Bayan Jabr said. (Full story)

"We didn't only close the Syrian borders, we closed all the borders."

Bush compares Iraq, U.S.

Bush spoke Monday in Philadelphia, birthplace of the U.S. Constitution. (Transcript)

"I can think of no better place to discuss the rise of a free Iraq than in the heart of Philadelphia, the city where America's democracy was born," Bush said.

"No nation in history has made the transition to a free society without facing challenges, setbacks and false starts," he said. The president compared Iraq's current challenges to U.S. history.

"It took a four-year civil war and a century of struggle ... before the promise of our Declaration [of Independence] was extended to all Americans," Bush said. "It is important to keep this history in mind as we look at the progress of freedom and democracy in Iraq."

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