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| Afghanistan | ||||||
| US ponders Gitmo transfer for Taliban militants | ||||||
| 2012-07-01 | ||||||
Citing US and Afghan officials as its source, the Associated Press said that under a plan being discussed, some Taliban fighters captured in the early days of the 2001 invasion would be transferred out of full American control but not released from custody.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and others have said that while negotiations with the Taliban are distasteful, they are the best way to settle the prolonged war. The new compromise is intended to boost the credibility of the US-backed Afghan government. President Hamid Karzai and American officials are trying to draw the Taliban back to negotiations toward a peace deal between the national Afghan government and the Pashtun-based insurgency. The Taliban have always been indifferent at best to negotiations with the Karzai government, saying the US holds effective control in Afghanistan.
Defence secretary Leon Panetta would have to sign off on the transfer and certify that the men did not pose a danger. He would not confirm details of the new proposal at a Pentagon news conference Friday, but he said discussions continue to try to promote a peace deal. "There are no specific commitments that have been made with regard to prisoner exchanges at this point," he said. "One thing I will assure you is that any prisoner exchanges that I have to certify are going to abide by the law and require that those individuals do not return back into the battle." Any such transfer is unlikely to include the five most senior Taliban figures held at Guantánamo, the subjects of separate stalled negotiations, a senior US official said. Republicans in Congress bitterly opposed the plan to send those men to house arrest in Qatar, which has emerged as a key broker with the Taliban. The opponents feared the men would be set free and endanger the US.
"The possibility is strong," for a transfer to Afghanistan that includes the five top figures, said Ismail Qasemyar, international relations adviser for the Afghan High Peace Council. The Taliban has demanded release of all the Guantánamo detainees as a condition for talks. The Islamist group abandoned direct talks in March, accusing the US of reneging on several promises.
Karzai has long sought the return of all 17 Afghans imprisoned at Guantánamo, men he sometimes calls brothers, as a point of national pride. He has argued that their imprisonment at Guantánamo undermines his credibility as a national leader, and that Afghanistan's own institutions should deal with captured insurgents.
Officials briefed on the discussions said the men would have to agree not to return to fighting, forswear any ties to al-Qaida, and submit to a ban on their travel. Beyond that it was not clear how closely they would be controlled by the Qatar government. The Taliban would have been asked to release Bowe Bergdahl, the only US prisoner of war from the Afghan conflict. Saturday marks the third anniversary of the American soldier's capture. | ||||||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #15 Execute them, send the Bodies back. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2012-07-01 19:46 |
| #14 To be put into a Yemeni prison, surrounded Saudi style, so that they can promptly escape... Then shoot 'em! |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2012-07-01 19:06 |
| #13 Oooo, I like that. But say it's Nano-tech that self-replicates in the blood or some paranoid BS that will get them going through a Litany of third-world procedures on top of being alone. |
| Posted by: Charles 2012-07-01 18:33 |
| #12 Even if we don't implant radio chips, just announce that we did - with secret new Jooooo technology. That should make the releasees poison - no one will want to be around them, in case the chips attract unwanted Hellfires. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2012-07-01 17:15 |
| #11 Implanted radio chips anyone? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2012-07-01 15:52 |
| #10 gorb, good plan, as long as one implants a locating transponder before releasing. Charles, that sounds like a workable plan too. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-07-01 15:51 |
| #9 Why not transfer them to Eric Holder's house? |
| Posted by: Rambler In Virginia 2012-07-01 15:00 |
| #8 Personally I'm for flying them back. Just nobody said anything about providing a landing...or, you know, have the plane carrying them blow up after the pilots jump out. That works in movies, about Obama's level of intellect. |
| Posted by: Charles 2012-07-01 14:43 |
| #7 The White House is considering sending suspected militants currently held at Guantanamo back to Afghanistan in a bid to kickstart stalled talks with the Taliban, it has been reported. IOW: We can't kill them, and they're no more dangerous than any other militant out there if they're carrying a rifle, which is about the most they are going to do anyway. Why not give them back so we can shoot their a$$es legally when they pop back up on the battlefield? |
| Posted by: gorb 2012-07-01 14:21 |
| #6 It represents a leap of faith on the US side t Hell no! That represents a prat-fall of stupidity! About what I expect from the traitor in chief. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2012-07-01 12:42 |
| #5 Maybe Judge Roberts can write up surrender papers that make it sound like we won the war. |
| Posted by: airandee 2012-07-01 12:38 |
| #4 In other news: GITMO closes, Obama ends lease with |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-07-01 11:56 |
| #3 The White House is considering sending suspected militants currently held at Guantanamo back to Afghanistan in a bid to kickstart stalled talks with the Taliban, it has been reported. Translation: 'Just in time delivery' of campaign promises, in no particular chronological order: 1. GITMO closes. 2. Obamacare upheld. 3. War in Afghanistan ended. 4. Osama Bin Laden dead. 5. Immigration reform initiated. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-07-01 11:35 |
| #2 TheTaliban has demanded release of all the Guantanamo detainees as a condition for talks. Traditional ME negotiating tactic of "give me everything I want and we can talk" Officials briefed on the discussions said the men would have to agree not to return to fighting, forswear any ties to al-Qaida, and submit to a ban on their travel. A genius plan! Because men who would commit murder, rape and arson would never stoop to lying to the infidel. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-07-01 11:30 |
| #1 The White House is considering sending suspected militants currently held at Guantanamo back to Afghanistan in a bid to kickstart stalled talks with the Taliban, it has been reported. Because that process has worked so well in getting the Israelis peace. Of course the same 'halt the bombing' gambit worked just as well too in Vietnam. YJCMTSU |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-07-01 11:14 |