Afghan prisoner-release plan said to risk ‘backlash’ in U.S. Congress --- KABUL — The Afghan government’s plan to release 88 high-profile detainees without trial “would have an unbelievably negative impact” on U.S.-Afghan relations, according to two of Congress’s biggest advocates for an enduring American presence here. -- During a visit to Kabul on Thursday, Republican Sens. John McCain (Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) said that although their differences with Afghan President Hamid Karzai were narrowing on many issues, the prisoner release threatens to undermine bilateral ties at a critical moment — as the deadline for a long-term security agreement looms. -- In March, the United States transferred control of the Parwan prison next to Bagram air base — with its roughly 3,000 detainees — to the Afghan government. Since then, Graham said, the Afghans have released 560 detainees without trial, and “some of those have gone back to the fight.” - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-prisoner-release-said-to-threaten-backlash-in-us-congress/2014/01/02/d836c9ba-73cd-11e3-bc6b-712d770c3715_story.html