ARAB-US RELATIONS - June 1 - Probe Of Afghan Jails To Stay Secret.

US Commander Lt Gen David Barno promises "rapid action" on an internal review of Afghan jails where at least three prisoners have died, but says details of techniques used there will remain classified. He says he would reveal publicly only "some of the key conclusions". He expects some of the results "would be classified in terms of the specific techniques". (He does not say whether he means interrogation or incarceration practices, or both. Concern about US jails in Afghanistan centres on the deaths of two detainees at the main Bagram facility, north of Kabul, in December 2002. Both were ruled homicides after autopsies found the men died from "blunt-force injuries". The military says it has made unspecified changes to its prison regime as a result of the deaths. But the army has yet to release results of its criminal investigations. The death of another detainee in eastern Afghanistan in June 2003 is under investigation by the CIA and allegations of mistreatment brought by two former detainees last month - including beatings, hooding and shackling as well as sexual abuse - prompted two more investigations). Barno says the techniques used to extract intelligence from prisoners since he took command last fall had been "extremely useful" in helping field commanders identify targets and protect their own troops. But "regardless of any intelligence value, I will tell you without hesitation that intelligence procedures have got to be done in accordance with the appropriate standards". Barno says he expects "all of our forces will treat every detainee here with dignity and respect... while maintaining necessary operational security for our soldiers". (The military has resisted pressure to open its holding facilities to outside scrutiny). Barno sasys he would decide this week whether to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross, which already visits Bagram, access to its jail at Kandahar, the main military base in the south.