Lindsey Graham, John McCain Visit Hamid Karzai, Urge Him To Sign Bilateral Security Agreement -- KABUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - U.S. senators visited the Afghan president on Thursday to try to push forward talks to sign a crucial bilateral security deal and halt the release of prisoners the United States considers a threat to security. -- Afghanistan plans to release hundreds of prisoners from Bagram prison, which was handed over from U.S. control only after a deal was reached in March after intense negotiations because Washington feared dangerous inmates would be freed. -- The disagreement further strains relations between the two countries, which are already at breaking point over President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign a bilateral security deal to shape the post-2014 U.S. military presence in the country. -- Without the pact, Washington could pull most of its troops out after this year, when most foreign troops are due to exit. -- The senators told Karzai that releasing dangerous prisoners would irreparably damage ties with the United States, but stopped short of saying it would prompt a full military withdrawal after 2014. -- "If these releases go ahead it will do irreparable damage to the relationship," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters at a news conference in Kabul on Thursday. -- Washington considers 88 of some 650 prisoners marked for release a serious threat to security, saying they are responsible for wounding or killing 57 Afghans and 60 U.S. and coalition troops. - More, Huffpost, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/02/lindsey-graham-john-mccain-afghanistan_n_4531420.html?utm_hp_ref=afghanistan