U.S. Detentions Chief in Afghanistan Says Recidivism Is Very Low
Don’t expect to see many detainees once held at Bagram Air Field return to the fight, Vice Adm. Robert Harward, detention operations chief for Gen. Stanley
Jul 31, 202029.3K Shares1M Views
Don’t expect to see many detainees once held at Bagram Air Field return to the fight, Vice Adm. Robert Harward, detention operations chief for Gen. Stanley McChrystal, said on a blogger conference call this morning.
Asked by Jeff Schogol of Stars & Stripes about the recidivism rate, Harward said ”very, very few” detainees leave U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan to return to the battlefield. He elaborated that about 3000 Afghans in eight years had been detained by U.S. forces, with 750 detained in the past year and 550 detained at the new facility at Bagram called Parwan. Out of those, Harward said he could document a total of 17 ex-detainees who had returned to the fight. “That’s less than half of one percent,” he said.
But it’s not the whole story. Harward said he couldn’t account for those detained insurgents turned over to the Afghan authorities and what theirrecidivism rate is. “I can tell you it’s very, very low for those that are captured by U.S. forces and go through our detention facilities,” he said.
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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