New Plan to Restart Taliban Talks: Move Gitmo Prisoners

Hamid Karzai pushing for all 17 Afghans at Guantanamo to be transferred
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 30, 2012 11:23 AM CDT
New Plan to Restart Taliban Talks: Move Gitmo Prisoners
FILE - In this May 25, 2012 file photo, Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks, in Kabul, Afghanistan.   (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

Up to 17 Taliban militants who were captured in the early days of the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and have been detained at Guantanamo for years could be moved to a prison in Afghanistan in an effort to get peace talks with the Taliban moving again, reports the AP. The detainees would not be freed, but once on Afghan soil they would be transferred to the prison next to Bagram air field, which transfers to Afghan control in September. US officials said the five most senior Taliban leaders in Guantanamo would likely not be included in the deal. But President Hamid Karzai is pushing for all 17 men; he has argued that their imprisonment undermines his credibility.

The thinking behind the transfer is that it would shift the responsibility for the combatants to the Afghan government and show moderates in the Taliban that the US is sincerely interested in peace. "There are no specific commitments that have been made with regard to prisoner exchanges at this point," said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta yesterday. "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." The Taliban has demanded release of all the Guantanamo detainees as a condition for talks. (More Afghanistan stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X