[Mb-civic] CBC News - AFGHAN PRESIDENT WANTS MORE CONTROL OVER U.S. FORCES

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AFGHAN PRESIDENT WANTS MORE CONTROL OVER U.S.  FORCES
WebPosted Sat May 21 10:01:45 2005

Kabul---Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to push for more
control over U.S. forces in his country when he meets U.S. President
George W. Bush.

Karzai took off for Washington late Saturday after telling reporters he
was upset by a report Friday in the New York Times that prisoners had
been abused while in U.S. military custody in Afghanistan.

"It has shocked me thoroughly and we condemn it," he said.

Karzai said he wants: The U.S. to hand over Afghan prisoners. More
influence over nearly 17,000 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. The U.S. to
stop searches of Afghan homes without his government's permission. Karzai
has described the torture allegations as an offence against humanity, and
demanded "very, very strong" action by the United States against any
military personnel who abuse prisoners.

"It has shocked me thoroughly and we condemn it," he said.

Last week, violent anti-U.S. protests followed reports – later
retracted – that American guards at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated
the Qur'an.

Now a 2,000-page confidential report detailing extensive abuse of
Afghan prisoners kept at the Bagram airbase near Kabul has been cited
in the Times.

The investigation into the deaths of two inmates in 2002 revealed other
sustained cruelties such as prolonged beatings and chainings of
prisoners to walls.

The U.S. military, responding to the allegations, defended its treatment
of detainees, saying it would not tolerate maltreatment.

In his weekly radio address, U.S. President George W. Bush hailed
the progress he says is being made in Iraq and Afghanistan to
establish democracy in those countries. Bush did not address the
allegations of abuse.

The United States leads a foreign force in Afghanistan of about 18,300,
most of them American, fighting Taliban insurgents and looking for
militant leaders, including al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden.

Copyright (C) 2005 CBC. All rights reserved.