What the hell to they think this is, fishing?
More than 500 suspected Taliban fighters detained by U.S. forces have been released from custody at the urging of Afghan government officials, angering both American troops and some Afghans who oppose the policy on the grounds that many of those released return to the battlefield to kill NATO soldiers and Afghan civilians.
And those numbers understate the problem, military officials say. They do not include suspected Taliban fighters held in small combat outposts or other forward operating bases throughout the region who are released before they ever become part of the official detainee population.
An Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that President Hamid Karzai's government has personally sought the release of as many as 700 suspected Taliban fighters since July, including some mid-level leaders. "Corruption is not just based on the amount of money that is wasted but wasted lives when Taliban return only to kill more NATO forces and civilians," said the official, who opposes what he considers corruption in the Karzai administration.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Karen Davis, a spokeswoman in Kabul, told The Washington Examiner "nearly 500 detainees held in the [detention facility in Parwan] have been released outright or transferred to the [Afghan government] for disposition under Afghan law" so far this year.
I've been a big supporter of the Iraq war as well as the war in Afghanistan, but this is unacceptable to the point that it defies description. As has been stated on this blog, Karzai is corrupt and cares more for his own enrichment than the fate of his country. That we should be bowing to his wishes regarding Taliban fighters is sheer madness.
This is a bloody war, not a paintball game! Risking lives to capture these beasts, only to release them so that they can fight again, turns war into a deadly farce.
Time and time again, the Taliban has proven their intentions and if Karzai thinks they will ever be part of a "coalition", he's tragically mistaken. Fueling his misbegotten belief with American blood should not be an option; the Taliban, simply put, should no longer be allowed to exist in any form.
Taliban fighters should be permanently neutralized with overwhelming force whenever the opportunity presents itself, and Taliban leaders should be executed. The single, best way to win any war is to eliminate the enemy's will to fight; if they love death more than life then they should be obliged accordingly. If any are left, they may reconsider their position on the matter.
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