In a change of policy shortly before Att. Gen. Eric Holder is set to name a prosecutor to investigate detainee abuse, the Pentagon has decided to release the names of those detained at Iraq and Bagram.
GTMO and Bagram detainees named
This might also be part of General Petraeus' strategy to turn the fight in Afghanistan in making it more accessible and open in terms of detainees. This might actually be a step toward using Major General Stone's recommendations who stated that the U.S. needed to be out of the detainee business in Afghanistan and recommended that 400 of the 600 currently held in Bagram had no business being there. Major General Doug Stone also admitted that the U.S. could be out of detainee business altogether in 12-18 months.
The new Pentagon policy on detainees took effect this month with no public announcement from the military or the Red Cross. It represents another shift in detention policy by the Obama administration, which has already vowed to close the American military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, by next year and is conducting major reviews of the government’s procedures for interrogating and detaining militants.
A spokesman for the Red Cross in Washington, Bernard Barrett, declined to comment on the new notification policy, citing the organization’s longstanding practice of refusing to talk about its discussions with the Defense Department about detention issues.
Unlike the secret prisons run by the C.I.A. that President Obama ordered closed in January, the military continues to operate the Special Operations camps, which it calls temporary screening sites, in Balad, Iraq, and Bagram, Afghanistan.
As many as 30 to 40 foreign prisoners have been held at the camp in Iraq at any given time, military officials said; they did not provide an estimate for the Afghan camp but suggested that the number was smaller.
The Red Cross is allowed access to almost all American military prisons and battlefield detention sites in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the Special Operations camps have been excluded.
Here is an NPR Transcript discussing General Stone's recommendations:
General Stone Recommends U.S. out of Detainee Process
General Stone's recommendations were sent to Sec. Clinton, Amb. Holbrooke, and General Petraeus. General Stone had previously done an earlier assessment in Iraq and General Petraeus successfully implemented that strategy to turn the fight around. That may be what can happen here.
His recommendations include:
Releasing 400 out of 600 Bagram Detainees from custody because of lack of any reason being there.
Getting out of the detainee process altogether within 12-18 months.
Rehabilitating and educating those who can be in Bagram.
Separating the moderates from the hardliners to prevent any chance of being influenced by Al Qaeda and the Taliban.