The U.S. and Afghanistan took a major step forward, signing an agreement that will transfer control of all the country's detention facilities -- including the prison where U.S. troops burned Korans last month -- to Afghan security forces within six months.
The deal, signed in Kabul by Gen. John Allen, head of the International Security Force in Afghanistan, and the country's Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak calls for the first batch of 500 detainees to be transferred to Afghan authority within 45 days. There are just over 3,000 Afghan detainees in American-run detention facilities throughout the country.
The handover of the prison facilities is an effort to rebuild an increasingly strained relationship between the U.S. and Afghanistan.
"This MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) illustrates our commitment to Afghan sovereignty," said U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
The control of detention facilities has been a contentious issue, straining U.S.-Afghan ties in recent months. Many Afghans consider it a question of national sovereignty. In a still largely tribal and traditional society, placing Afghans -- criminals or otherwise -- under foreign authority is seen as particularly humiliating.
Those anti-American feelings erupted two weeks ago, after U.S. troops burned copies of the Koran at a U.S.-run detention center near Kabul. US officials from Gen. Allen to President Obama apologized for the incident. Officials insisted it was done unintentionally and ordered a military investigation.