Hundreds of prisoners at Bagram jail have been freed since the Afghan government took over the running of the prison in March 2013. The government has also freed further Taliban prisoners, which is a cause of security concern for the U.S. In a move that seems certain to worsen an already rocky relationship, the government of Afghani President Harmid Karzai on February 13 released 65 Taliban prisoners from the Parwan Detention Centre in Kabul. The move came after the U.S. military and a prominent American politician warned Karzai that releasing the men would endanger the lives of both U.S. and Afghan servicemen, as well as endanger any chance that the U.S. has of staying in Afghanistan past its current deadline of the end of 2014. In a statement made moments after the men were released, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said, "The Afghan government bears responsibility for the results of its decision. We urge it to make every effort to ensure that those released do not commit new acts of violence and terror." Karzai, however, refused to back down, releasing his own statement saying that the evidence collected by both U.S. and Afghan intelligence services was not enough to warrant formal trials for the 66 detainees. A presidential spokesman added, "I hope that the United States will stop harassing Afghanistan's procedures and judicial authority. Afghanistan is a sovereign country. If Afghan judiciary authorities decide to release prisoners, it's of no concern to the U.S." It seems, however, that the U.S. military and at least one prominent U.S. politician, think it is very much a matter of concern. On the day before the men were released, the U.S. Central Command took the unusual step of releasing a statement that argued against the release, and publicly identified several of the detainees and the evidence that had been collected against them. "U.S. Forces – Afghanistan has repeatedly expressed strong concern about the potential threats these detainees pose to coalition forces and Afghan security forces and civilians," the statement said. "Detainees from this group of 65 are directly linked to attacks killing or wounding 32 U.S. or coalition personnel and 23 Afghan security personnel or civilians." One of the men identified, Mohammed Wali, was arrested in Helmand province in May 2013, and was "biometrically" linked to three IED attacks targeting U.S. and Afghan forces. Afgahn experts, however, say that part of the problem may be that Afghani courts rely much more on direct confessions, rather than the kind of scientific evidence routinely used in U.S. courts to link suspects to a crime. U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a long time support of the U.S. role in Afghanistan and a strong proponent of a continuing U.S. military presence to help train more Afghani troops, lashed out at Karzai. "President Karzai, in my view, is single-handedly destroying this relationship," Graham told a U.S. Congressional hearing last week. "I will be urging my colleagues to cut off all developmental aid to Afghanistan as a response until after the next election (in April). I look forward to developing a bipartisan plan to push back as hard as possible." The release comes as the U.S. and Afghani governments are still trying to work out a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that would allow about 10,000 U.S. troops to remain in the country past the end of 2014. Karzai stunned both the U.S. and many of his own backers when he refused to sign an agreement that had been recommended by the grand assembly, the loya Jirga. The agreement's terms stated that in exchange for economic assistance from the U.S., the Afghan government would allow the establishment of permanent military bases in Afghanistan, grant immunity from prosecution for American servicemen, and allow unrestrained night raids and house searches. According to the UN Security Council's mandate, the U.S.-led international military force in Afghanistan is scheduled to hand over all security duties to Afghan forces before its full withdrawal by the end of 2014. But if a "Security and Defence Co-operation Agreement" is signed between the two countries, about 10,000 U.S. troops could stay in Afghanistan for another 10 years.
