Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
My colleague Spencer Ackerman has an interesting post at the Washington Independent asking an important question: Will Gen. McChrystal testify about a newly revealed "black jail" at Bagram?
I reported yesterday that Gen. Stanley McChrystal will probably testify next week about Afghanistan war strategy. It'll be interesting to see if he faces questions about the so-called "black jail."Over the weekend, both The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on an apparently undisclosed adjunct to the prison facility at Bagram Air Field called the "black jail" by Afghans who told human-rights groups they were detained there. According to the papers, the black jail is run by Special Operations Forces, and accounts of it stretch back to early 2008 - back when McChrystal was in charge of the Joint Special Operations Command's (JSOC) operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That's pretty frightening to think about. The prison on the Bagram base has been a bad enough place. Detainees have been tortured and even killed while in custody there, including some truly horrifying stories of abuse. And now we find out that there's another facility there for detainees that has operated even more covertly? Imagine what must have gone on there.
Or don't imagine it. Let's find out. Congress should be asking questions and demanding answers. So far, the response Spencer got from McChrystal's camp is meaningless tripe:
I emailed McChrystal's current command to find out what it would do about the accounts of the black jail. The response I got, from Air Force Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis, a spokesman for McChrystal: "Our intent over time is to transition detention facilities currently under our control to Afghan control. It's our policy to treat detainees humanely." I did not get any specific acknowledgment of the facility's existence, but I also didn't get a denial.
No, that's not good enough. Not even close.
Politics
Comments
Congresscritters ask General McCrystal a potentially embarrassing question? This will happen when the shrimps learn to whistle.
Posted by: SLC | December 2, 2009 9:59 AM
I only recently learned about McChrystal's role in the cover-up of Pat Tillman's murder. I like him less and less every day. I'm just about at the point that I have no confidence in him to do his job and command troops in Afghanistan.
Posted by: FishyFred | December 2, 2009 10:29 AM
"...Pat Tillman's murder."
"murder" implies intent. But hey, keep the rhetoric flowing!
Posted by: Ian | December 2, 2009 1:12 PM
New update on Blackwater: Eric Prince, the scumbag who started Blackwater, is (possibly arleady has, our local news was a little unsure) stepped down from leading that company because "my company did some work for the special forces and CIA", but then "folks at the CIA threw me under the bus" when things got rough. He claims to be spending $2 million per month on legal fees.
It was reported he said he wanted to become some sort of high school teacher.
Posted by: dean | December 3, 2009 10:23 AM