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January 3, 2014

U.S. Senators Pressure Afghan President on Troop Deal, Prisoner Release 
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The United States is continuing to pressure Afghanistan to sign a deal
keeping thousands of U.S. troops there beyond this year. On Thursday, a
group of U.S. senators met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to urge
him to stop delaying the bilateral security agreement. Republican Sen.
John Mc Cain of Arizona said they had made progress.

Sen. John Mc Cain: "I am convinced that as a result of our long meeting
with President Karzai we have narrowed those differences, and I believe
that we can look forward to the signing of the BSA (bilateral security
agreement) and an implementation of it sooner rather than later."

The United States is also pressuring Afghanistan not to release a group
of 88 prisoners from Bagram, the prison north of Kabul that became known
for the abuse of prisoners under U.S. control. Afghanistan has already
released 562 prisoners and plans to release the others, saying there is
not enough evidence to keep detaining them. But the United States says
the prisoners were involved in killing U.S. troops and Afghan civilians.

 

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