U.S. adopts reintegration strategy to subdue Afghan insurgency

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U.S. adopts reintegration strategy to subdue Afghan insurgency
By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 14, 2010

KHOST, AFGHANISTAN -- They had spent up to two years in U.S. detention, and now freedom was theirs for the price of a thumbprint. Seven Afghan men, each accused of ties to insurgents, would be allowed to simply walk away if they would pledge before their village elders -- and on pieces of parchment prepared for the occasion -- that they would stay out of trouble.

All seven quickly left their mark on the documents. But had they truly reformed? One of them, asked to forswear violence before a crowd of Afghan elders and U.S. officers at a release ceremony in this eastern town, seemed to dodge the question.

"I am a Muslim, and I would never do anything against Islam," said the ex-detainee, a bearded 26-year-old named Yusouf.

The release, which included shiny new cellphones given as parting gifts, was another in a series of high-stakes experiments to find out whether the insurgency in Afghanistan can be broken by reintegrating former combatants into their communities, rather than holding them indefinitely.

In recent months, U.S.-run detention camps -- hated by many Afghans as symbols of occupation -- have undergone a transformation aimed at putting the more pliable detainees on a path toward reentering Afghan society. The main internment center at Bagram air base was closed late last year and replaced with a facility that features inmate gardening plots, a playground for visiting children and classrooms for teaching reading and math as well as trade skills.