U.S. plans new detention facility in Afghanistan

The chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee sent a letter to the Pentagon who said in the letter that in view of the current prison in Afghanistan being shrouded in secrecy and torture, an expansion could produce another blot on the reputation of the US. this human rights lawyer couldn’t agree more. She represents several men being held at the facility, though she hasn’t been able to visit the detention center herself; no lawyer has. She gets her info from family members of the detainees and former detainees. She says the extreme weather conditions at the detention center make it harsher than Guantanamo. When questioned about this, a Pentagon spokesman said all detainees are provided safe and humane conditions. But the conditions are part of the reason the Pentagon wants to build a new complex. But Afghans are wondering why the US is backing off on its original plan to transfer authority of the prisoners to Afghan authorities. This analyst says handing the prisoners over at this point would run contrary to the rules of international law, and that oversight from the US should be maintained. This Afghan official admits the Afghan legal system has problems, but also says the $60 million the US plans to spend on the new center would be better spent on Afghan prisons, which was the original plan. This analyst chalks those difficulties up to another example of the Bush administration learning that nation building is difficult.