KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan government has begun the process of releasing three dozen prisoners despite U.S. protests that they are highly dangerous, officials said Monday, the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries ahead of the year-end withdrawal of most international combat.
The move to release the prisoners prompted an angry denunciation from the U.S. military, which said the 37 prisoners slated for release are "dangerous insurgents who have Afghan blood on their hands" with strong evidence against them to merit further prosecution or investigation — from DNA linking them to roadside bombs to explosives residue on their clothing.
President Hamid Karzai's government has rebuffed the U.S. claims that the men pose a serious risk of returning to violence if they're released, and used the issue to test his government's relationship with the U.S. as the two sides struggle over the question of a post-2014 foreign presence.
Karzai has stepped up his anti-American rhetoric since refusing to sign an agreement that would allow thousands of American soldiers to stay in the country after the end of the NATO-led combat mission. Instead, he has said he wants to wait to sign until after the country elects his successor in Afghanistan's April 5 presidential election.
The Obama administration is pressing him to change his mind, warning that Afghan forces still need training to fight a resilient insurgency.
Earlier this month, Karzai ordered the release of all but 16 of a group of 88 inmates at the Parwan Detention Facility that the U.S. says pose a threat to Afghanistan and the region. He recently criticized the facility, referring to it as a "Taliban-producing factory" where he said innocent Afghans are tortured into hating their country
Last week, Karzai blamed a U.S. military airstrike for a number of civilian casualties in eastern Parwan province. The U.S.-led international military coalition, however, provided a sharply different account of what happened during the two-day operation against insurgents, saying it was an Afghan-led effort and carried out at the request of the government.
The move to release the prisoners prompted an angry denunciation from the U.S. military, which said the 37 prisoners slated for release are "dangerous insurgents who have Afghan blood on their hands" with strong evidence against them to merit further prosecution or investigation — from DNA linking them to roadside bombs to explosives residue on their clothing.
President Hamid Karzai's government has rebuffed the U.S. claims that the men pose a serious risk of returning to violence if they're released, and used the issue to test his government's relationship with the U.S. as the two sides struggle over the question of a post-2014 foreign presence.
Karzai has stepped up his anti-American rhetoric since refusing to sign an agreement that would allow thousands of American soldiers to stay in the country after the end of the NATO-led combat mission. Instead, he has said he wants to wait to sign until after the country elects his successor in Afghanistan's April 5 presidential election.
The Obama administration is pressing him to change his mind, warning that Afghan forces still need training to fight a resilient insurgency.
Earlier this month, Karzai ordered the release of all but 16 of a group of 88 inmates at the Parwan Detention Facility that the U.S. says pose a threat to Afghanistan and the region. He recently criticized the facility, referring to it as a "Taliban-producing factory" where he said innocent Afghans are tortured into hating their country
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