Pentagon Slams Afghans for Plans to Release Detainees

Karzai Spokesman: US Doesn't Get to Dictate Judicial Decisions

Pentagon officials have issued yet another statement angrily condemning the Afghan government for its plans to release 37 detainees from Bagram, calling it a “major step backward” for the rule of law.

The detainees were among those transferred to Afghan control, and following a review there was no real evidence against any of them. The lack of evidence led to them being cleared for release.

The Pentagon has repeatedly insisted the detainees are “dangerous” and have “blood on their hands,” though they were either unwilling or unable to produce evidence to that effect.

A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai says that the Pentagon doesn’t get to dictate judicial decisions in Afghanistan, and that seems to be a surprise to the Pentagon, which has insisted the Afghan Review Board was never supposed to have the authority to release anyone, and that the choice was meant to be between trial and indefinite detention without trial.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.