I’ve said this a thousand times and I’ll keep saying it, take these murderous thugs out back after trial and give them a quick double-tap to the back of the head. Problem solved…
(Long War Journal)- A cable released by WikiLeaks that is available on The New York Times‘ web site underscores the difficulties that both the Bush and Obama administrations have had in transferring war on terror detainees to Afghan custody. The cable, which originated at the US Embassy in Kabul on Aug. 6, 2009, begins:
On numerous occasions we have emphasized with Attorney General Aloko the need to end interventions by him and President Karzai, who both authorize the release of detainees pre-trial and allow dangerous individuals to go free or re-enter the battlefield without ever facing an Afghan court.
The situation with respect to detainees transferred from Guantanamo to Afghanistan is problematic as well. The cable notes (emphasis added):
An August 2005 exchange of diplomatic notes between the USG and the GIRoA provides the legal basis for the GIRoA’s detention and prosecution of detainees transferred? into Afghan custody. Even though a multi-agency GIRoA delegation under the Aloko Detainee Commission screens all BTIF detainees who are transferred to the ANDF and assures the USG that these detainees will be prosecuted in an Afghan court, there have been 150 detainees released from the ANDF without trial since 2007, including 29 former Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) detainees. The total number of transfers to date from BTIF to ANDF is 629 detainees, plus 41 from GTMO.
It is not entirely clear if the 29 Gitmo detainees referred to above were all supposed to be tried in Afghan courts, but it certainly appears that way. It also makes sense when put into context. Roughly 200 Afghans have been transferred from Guantanamo to their home country, according to data compiled byThe New York Times. Many of these former detainees probably were not slated to stand trial. But the Americans did expect that some of them would.
The cable suggests that the Afghans have released dozens of former Gitmo detainees, and many more former detainees once held at Bagram, who the Americans thought should be tried. Keep reading…
