[Peace-discuss] Creating terrorists

[C. G. Estabrook]

[US tyranny in the Mideast is creating the terrorists whom it is supposedly 
combating.  But this situation is welcomed by the USG to justify its military 
descent on the region. See, e.g., <http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-
whispers/2009/08/19/tom-ridge-on-national-security-after-911.html>. --CGE]

	August 20 2009
	U.S. General: Most Bagram Detainees Should Be Released
	400 of the 600 Prisoners Held Six Years
	Have Done Nothing Wrong and Pose No Threat
	By Daphne Eviatar
	Washington Independent

A U.S. Marine reservist and general has created a detailed report recommending 
that up to 400 of the 600 prisoners at the U.S.-run prison at the Bagram Air 
Base in Afghanistan have done nothing wrong and should be released, NPR reports.

Lawyers have been making that argument for years now, but the United States has 
insisted that the prisoners at Bagram have no right to challenge their detention 
in a U.S. court. The Obama administration recently appealed a federal court’s 
ruling that some of the prisoners do indeed have that right.

Now, notwithstanding any constitutional concerns, Maj. Gen. Doug Stone is 
reportedly recommending that the United States completely revamp its detention 
policy in Afghanistan, focusing on rehabilitating rather than simply imprisoning 
the detainees. He also acknowledges that the vast majority of the men held at 
Bagram were likely swept up in raids yet had not engaged in hostilities against 
the United States.

As I’ve written before, many of the prisoners at Bagram have been held there for 
six or seven years without charge or access to lawyers. Stone worries that 
imprisoning them without charge or an ability to defend themselves for years 
will turn them into hardened anti-American radicals.

Stone’s 700-page report is not yet available, but he has reportedly briefed 
senior U.S. officials on his findings, including the top commander in 
Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal; Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, special 
envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan; and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham 
Clinton. Stone earlier helped revamp the prison system in Iraq.

McChrystal is expected to address the issue of detention facilities in an 
assessment of Afghanistan due within the next few weeks.

http://votersforpeace.us/press/index.php?itemid=2552