Canadian soldiers guard suspected Taliban prisoners in Northern Kandahar, May 10, 2006. The suspects were subsequently handed over to the Afghan National Police. Photograph by: John D. McHugh/AFP/Getty Images EXCLUSIVE - Afghan Officials Free Top Taliban Fighters -- Vancouver Sun/Reuters
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan security forces are freeing captured senior Taliban for payment or political motives, with President Hamid Karzai and his powerful brother among those authorizing and requesting releases.
The practice is so systemic that the Taliban have a committee focused on getting their fighters out of jail. It undermines the deterrent effect of arrest and the potential of the prisoner population as a card to play in peace talks, analysts say.
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My Comment: The U.S. cables that Wikileaks released this week clearly reveals U.S. Government concerns on the corruption within the Afghan Government. Kudos to Reuters for taking this information and doing the investigative work to examine how this corruption works.