| Now there's a headline that warms the heart. |
KABUL: The US military is taking as few prisoners as possible in its campaign against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, an American commander said yesterday, partly to forestall more complaints about its conduct after the deaths in custody of at least eight prisoners. Colonel Gary Cheek, the US commander for eastern Afghanistan, said the troops under his command would be "relentless" in their pursuit of insurgents, including some 20 unidentified top leaders, through the bitter Afghan winter. But he said the soldiers were taking as few prisoners as possible as they try to win stronger support from the local population, and following a review of the military's policy on detentions last year. "We are always adapting to the changes in the environment and our commanders, our soldiers, are also trying to be more sensitive to the Afghan culture," Cheek said at a news conference. "I've told our commanders, for example, to minimise the number of Afghan nationals or others that they detain."
| Dang. I thought that they would just ... |
The US military, which still commands 18,000 troops here, has taken thousands of prisoners in Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom, Washington's anti-terrorism drive, began after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Those not quickly released are transferred to larger jails at US bases in Bagram and Kandahar, from where many have in the past been sent to the American prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, allegations of mistreatment - dating back to before the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq - have hurt efforts to win over ordinary Afghans. When asked about the death in September of a prisoner at his own headquarters in the city of Khost, Cheek said the man had complained to a guard that he was bitten by a snake. Sher Mohammad Khan complained to his jailers that he was bitten by a snake hours before his death, a high-ranking US military official said. Doctors could not find evidence of a bite when he was first detained but when medics checked on him later in the evening he had stopped breathing, said Colonel Gary Cheek, the US military commander in eastern Afghanistan. "Because we could find nothing wrong with him the doctor left... the second time that the medic went back to check on him... they found that he was no longer breathing," he added.
| "Gee Sarge, musta been some snake." |
Spokesman Maj Mark McCann said fewer prisoners were now being sent to Guantanamo, reflecting a decline in militant activity in Afghanistan. He also said detainees could be freed this year under a planned amnesty. The officials gave no figures to show whether detention rates had indeed declined, although Cheek said the three holding facilities under his control at bases in eastern Afghanistan were currently empty. |