- Davis added "nearly 200 of those 500 [at Bagram] have been released" since July.
The criteria for detention is not based upon a particular affiliation, such as the Taliban, "but rather is an assessment based upon a preponderance of evidence that an individual participated in the conflict as an enemy combatant and, if so, detention is necessary to mitigate the threat posed to the government and people of Afghanistan, the U.S. and its coalition partners," Davis said.
- The Detainee Review Board, made up of three U.S. commissioned officers with a rank of major or above, determines when a prisoner is eligible for release and whether a detainee is likely to be rehabilitated.
Prisoners held at the Bagram facility are not considered guilty or innocent but rather a determination is made "based upon evidence that detention is necessary to mitigate the threat the detainee poses to the government and people of Afghanistan, the U.S. and its coalition partners,"
- states a document provided by the International Security Assistance Force.
Earlier this year, The Examiner reported that numerous insurgents captured in Pakistan, including some members of al Qaeda, were returned to Afghanistan upon the request of the Karzai government, and then, according to a senior Pakistani official,
- "released back to the Taliban as bargaining chips in negotiations.""...
(Note the terms 'Al Qaeda' and 'Taliban' are used interchangeably here. ed.)
(continuing, Washington Examiner): "A marine stationed in southern Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province told The Examiner that
- efforts to detain insurgent fighters are "worthless."
Earlier this year, his unit held a man known to be working with the Taliban. The Marines had gathered evidence that the man was transporting hundreds of pounds of bomb-making equipment and explosives for the Taliban. But, shortly after they captured him,
"Less than two weeks later, we saw the same guy walking through the bazaar," said the marine, who spoke on condition that he not be named. "He recognized us. I wanted to shoot him right then and there. We got the guy, and yet
- there he was, walking around planning to kill again, and we couldn't do a thing about it."
For American combat troops in Afghanistan, the release of suspect Taliban is seen as a symptom of the corruption of the Karzai government.
"Back-room dealings between Karzai officials and local government connected to the Taliban make
The release of more than 250,000 diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks last week provided a rare glimpse into what the State Department considers
- official corruption in the Karzai government.
That was the opinion of Afghan officials interviewed recently. "Afghanistan is a corrupt mess populated by citizens who are far more comfortable thinking and acting locally and tribally than nationally," one official said. "Karzai takes advantage of that for his own benefit," he added.
Sara A. Carter is The Washington Examiner's national security correspondent.
via Drudge Report
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