Inside The US Military’s Afghan Prisons

Perhaps the number one recruiting tool (after civilian casualties) that Taliban and insurgent groups have  in Afghanistan are the prisons run by the US military. Stories about atrocities in these prisons are legend among average people in Afghanistan. Most of these tales of torture are likely untrue, but there is documented evidence that US interrogators have pushed the envelope in the past.

An Afghan is detained by US military forces in Wardak last April. He was later released after questioning. (photo by P.J.)

But all that may be changing.

For the first time, a journalist (who happens to be my friend and mentor Willy Stern) has been allowed into some extremely restricted detention centers in Afghanistan. He was given unfettered access to detainees with no conditions on what he could ask them. He got candid interviews with everyone from low-ranking jailers to the top officers in the new unit that just took over running every US jail in the country.

I met dozens of detainees, was often invited back into their group cells for tea (I always declined), and made chitchat with those who had some English. Did any complain of abuse? No. Is this proof that here is no abuse? Of course not, but it’s a pretty decent indicator. I was briefed on classified detainee files–on the condition that actual names not be used in print–and was allowed to interview a wide array of prison employees, including interrogators, guards, wardens, and even a psychologist. Most of these interviews were unmonitored, including on-the-record and unofficial talks with two translators who work in the interrogation rooms. I asked for details on a juvenile detainee, and they were immediately provided.

Turns out that “transparency” is the new watchword, with rehabilitation and education of detainees also playing a major role.

Now, this piece runs in the conservative Weekly Standard, so I’m sure that many of you will take it with a grain of, um, salt. That said, I had dinner with Willy in Kabul before, during and after his reporting of this story and he was completely, honestly floored by the military’s openness and the decent conditions that the detainees were kept in. I don’t know what his political affiliations are, but I am 100 percent positive that he is not a military apologist.

I also know that the US military command, particularly Gen. Stanley McChrystal, is desperate to change how the coalition military is perceived in this country. Treating prisoners as human beings could be a big step in that direction.

Now go read the story.