Afghanistan to free Bagram prisoners despite US concerns

Dunno whats happening in Afghanistan. Is karzai trying to appease taleban before leaving office or??

Earlier in 2013, Afghanistan got control of this prison.
](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303640604579296330448509744)US cedes control of Bagram prison to Afghan forces

(http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303640604579296330448509744)
Afghanistan to free most inmates seen by U.S. as threat | Reuters

(Reuters) - Afghanistan has enough evidence to try only 16 of 88 prisoners that the United States considers a threat to security and plans to free the remaining detainees, the president’s spokesman said on Thursday.

The move will further strain relations between the two countries that are already near breaking point over President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign a security deal to shape the U.S. military presence after most foreign troops leave this year.

Without a deal, Washington could pull most of its troops out after 2014.

The United States is strongly opposed to their release because it says the prisoners have been involved in the wounding or killing of U.S. and coalition troops.

The Afghan government says, however, there is no evidence against 45 of the 88 prisoners, while the evidence against a further 27 detainees is not enough to put them on trial.

“We cannot allow innocent Afghan citizens to be kept in detention for months and years without a trial for no reason at all,” Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi, told Reuters.

“We know that unfortunately this has been happening at Bagram, but it is illegal and a violation of Afghan sovereignty and we cannot allow this anymore.”

The president’s decision came after the head of Afghanistan’s spy agency presented the cases against the prisoners at meeting on Thursday morning.

**U.S. senators visiting Afghanistan last week said releasing the prisoners would irreparably damage ties with the United States, but stopped short of saying it would prompt a full military withdrawal.
**

Karzai has called the so-called “zero option” an empty threat and suggested any security deal can wait until after the presidential elections in April. The United States says it needs time to prepare a post-2014 mission.

(Reporting by Jessica Donati and Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Alison Williams)

Re: Afghanistan to free Bagram prisoners despite US concerns

Afghanistan Games: Robert Gates, Obama, and Karzai : The New Yorker

And then there is the election itself. There are close to a dozen candidates, a number of them Karzai’s allies, among them his brother, Abdul Qayum Karzai. The dread one has is that Karzai wants to make sure that he has leverage to insure we tolerate a fixed election. Is that the sort of player we want to be, and is that why Americans died in Afghanistan? Is that what we can stand?

Re: Afghanistan to free Bagram prisoners despite US concerns

if you have been following karzai for a while, he's been trying to build an image as THE person to go to for building a government structure. the US doesn't seem to understand how a guy they propped up can do this.

Re: Afghanistan to free Bagram prisoners despite US concerns

What do you mean?

Re: Afghanistan to free Bagram prisoners despite US concerns

Government structure? The guy is far from that. I think that he is trying to "man up" his image by showing that he "resists" the 'muricans.

Re: Afghanistan to free Bagram prisoners despite US concerns

Afghanistan releases 65 Taliban prisoners despite US protests - DAWN.COM

Re: Afghanistan to free Bagram prisoners despite US concerns

Wow ... For the first time in my life I am impressed with Karzai ...

It is because he seems to be doing acts of real justice and fairness ...

It is the Sunnah of the early Muslims to release prisoners of war ... Especially if they are not going to harm anyone.