KABUL — The United States has for several years been secretly releasing high-level detainees from a military prison in Afghanistan as part of negotiations with insurgent groups, a bold effort to quell violence but one that U.S. officials acknowledge poses substantial risks.
David Guttenfelder/AP – Former Commander of the International Security Assistance Force Gen. David Petraeus, center, who is now director of the CIA, tours the grounds of the U.S.-run Parwan detention facility near Bagram north of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sept. 27, 2010.
“Everyone agrees they are guilty of what they have done and should remain in detention. Everyone agrees that these are bad guys. But the benefits outweigh the risks,” said one U.S. official who, like others, discussed the issue on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the program.
The releases have come amid broader efforts to end the decade-long war through negotiation, which is a central feature of the Obama administration’s strategy for leaving Afghanistan. Those efforts, however, have yielded little to no progress in recent years. In part, they have been stymied by the unwillingness of the United States to release five prisoners from Guantanamo Bay — a gesture that insurgent leaders have said they see as a precondition for peace talks.
Unlike at Guantanamo, releasing prisoners from the Parwan detention center, the only American military prison in Afghanistan, does not require congressional approval and can be done clandestinely. And although official negotiations with top insurgent leaders are seen by many as an endgame for the war, which has claimed nearly 2,000 U.S. lives, the strategic release program has a less ambitious goal: to quell violence in concentrated areas where NATO is unable to ensure security, particularly as troops continue to withdraw. The releases are intended to produce tactical gains but are not considered part of a grand bargain with the Taliban.
U.S. officials would not say how many detainees have been released under the program, though they said such cases are relatively rare. The program has existed for several years, but officials would not confirm exactly when it was established.
The process begins with conversations between U.S. military officials and insurgent commanders or local elders, who promise that violence will decrease in their district — or that militants will cease fighting altogether — if certain insurgents are released from Parwan. The value of the tradeoff and the sincerity of the guarantee are then weighed by senior military officials in Kabul, officials said.
I can not beleive we are doing this. This is negoiating with terrorists. Obama is such a dumb ass. Exchange for peace, this from people that lie just because. This will backfire and another huge attack is in the making, because they now view the US and Obama as very lame.
Yes Sharon, negotiating with terrorists is exactly what this is. Except when the POTUS, as Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces, engages in it then it is known as ‘aiding the enemy’. And doing so is both a treasonous act and a violation of United States Military Law as defined under the Article 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The penalty for violating Article 104 is death or life imprisonment.
What does Obama hope to gain from releasing these murderers?
Negotiating with terrorists is just like negotiating with democrats- – they ALL lie and go right back to doing what they did BEFORE the “negotiations”! A terrorist is a “terrorist” (for life), just like an islamist IS an islamist – -FOR LIFE! GET RID OF THEM- – “PERMANENTLY”!