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ABC News Morning Arrival Expected for 20 Al Qaeda, Taliban Prisoners Jan. 11 � The first group of 20 al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners is due to arrive today at a U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Thursday, the shackled, hooded prisoners were flown out of Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a U.S. Air Force C-17 amid tight security and great secrecy. They were then transferred to a C-141 transport plane at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey for the flight to Cuba. The prisoners were all chained together and outnumbered 2-to-1 by guards armed with stun guns. On the plane, they were chained to their seats, military officials said. Pentagon officials told ABCNEWS the prisoners might be sedated if necessary, and reports from a number of media outlets said the prisoners would be fed by their guards and would be provided portable urinals. "There are among these prisoners people who are perfectly willing to kill themselves and kill other people," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said, adding that those overseeing the transfer have been authorized to use "appropriate restraint." Since the war in Afghanistan began, al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners have staged bloody uprisings against their captors at least twice. In November, CIA operative Johnny "Mike" Spann became the first U.S. combat casualty in Afghanistan during a revolt near the city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Humane, Not Comfortable Once in Cuba, the prisoners should not expect much more in the way of creature comforts. "We have no intention of making it comfortable," said Gen. Michael Lehnert, commander of Joint Task Force 160, which is in charge of the prisoners. "It'll be humane, but we are not working towards comfortable." Amnesty International has voiced concerns over the photographs of chained and hooded prisoners boarding a U.S. military plane in Kandahar on Thursday and of reports that the prisoners would be sedated during the flight. "All those in U.S. custody following the military operations in Afghanistan must be treated humanely, with full respect for international standards," an Amnesty statement said. The Pentagon said detainees would be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention rules on prisoners. The prisoners will be housed first in temporary "outdoor cells" until a permanent detention facility is built. U.S. officials hope to build 220 temporary cells initially and eventually 2,000 permanent ones to hold war detainees. A spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Geneva today said officials of the Swiss-based international human rights group will have unrestricted access to the specially-built jail in Cuba and private interviews with the inmates. It is not yet clear how many of the 364 Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners will be brought to Guantanamo Bay. However, officials say American John Walker was not on Thursday's flight. Walker was captured along with other Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan in November. U.S. Forces Arrive in Philippines In other developments: �� An initial force of about two dozen U.S. special forces arrived in the Philippines to assist the government's efforts to crack down on Abu Sayaf, the militant Islamic group with links with al Qaeda. About 100 more U.S. troops are expected to arrive later this month. �� The Pakistani government has been discussing how long the United States plans to remain at four Pakistani bases with U.S. officials, according to a report in The Washington Post. Pakistan has been concerned about domestic unrest and escalating tensions with neighboring India. �� Recovery efforts at the remote site in Pakistan where a U.S. KC-130 cargo plane crashed Wednesday continue. None of the bodies of the seven Marines on board have been recovered �� In a warning to Iran, President Bush said Thursday the United States would "deal with them diplomatically, initially," if Iran tried to destabilize neighboring Afghanistan. The warning followed reports that Tehran, concerned about the perceived pro-Western stance of the new Afghan administration, was giving safe haven to fleeing al Qaeda members in a bid to fight Western influence in the region. ABCNEWS' Andrew Morse and Bill Blakemore in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Rebecca Cooper and Jason Ryan in Washington contributed to this report. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/ ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
