U.S. not handing over all Afghan prisoners
(CBS News) KABUL - In Afghanistan, as American forces draw down, a milestone was reached Monday. The U.S. transferred control of the Bagram Prison outside Kabul to the Afghans. They now control the fate of thousands of prisoners, including many Taliban.
About 3,000 prisoners were handed over to the Afghans, but that's not all of them.
A U.S. military spokesman told CBS News that several hundred Afghan prisoners will remain under U.S. custody, and it's a discrepancy between the U.S. system that's in place at Bagram now and the Afghan system which will be in place.
The real concern here is that some of these Afghan prisoners would face an Afghan Judge, an Afghan court and the possibility that dangerous prisoners could be released and could return to the battlefield. Now until they get those assurances, they're not going to let those prisoners go. It's also worth noting that the U.S. military will maintain a presence inside the Bagram Prison and along the outside of the perimeter.
Bagram prison handed over to Afghan forcesThere are concerns that it could fall prey to either incompetence or corruption, and that certain high value prisoners that are currently being held may be released. The concerns have not been resolved.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that this is a great day for Afghan sovereignty. However, although there was an acting defense minister there and several Afghan generals, there was no top U.S. military commander there. That may speak about the reluctance of the U.S. military over this deal.
