[originaltext] People should expect to see the number of Taliban and Al Qaeda

People should expect to see the number of Taliban and Al Qaeda detainees in US control to keep growing, according to Rear Adm. John D. Stufflebeem.  "The number of detainees will continue to fluctuate as the interrogations continue of those that are being detained by the Afghans." he said at the Pentagon Jan.  28. "There are detainees throughout the country. There are over 300 being detained in Herat. Afghan authorities interrogate the detainees and recommend those to the United States that they think US officials would be interested in." he said.  "We continue the screening process until it becomes obvious that these are individuals whom we do want to continue to interrogate or to hold." Stufflebeem said.  Afghan officials turned over another 22 detainees over the weekend, bringing the total under US control to 482. At present, 324 are in Afghanistan under US Central Command Control and 158 are at US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Their status and ultimate disposition remain under discussion, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke. Afghan Interim Authority Chairman Hamid Karzai is meeting with America’s national security team today to discuss the detainees and other matters, she noted. Karzai is slated to meet with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon later this afternoon. "This has been under review and under consideration by the lawyers for some time." she said. "There are policy and procedure considerations you want to take in determining the application of the Geneva Convention. "We are in very unconventional times." Clarke said. We’re in a very unconventional war. So every aspect of it, including the Geneva Convention and how it might be applied, should be looked at with new eyes and new thoughts as to what we’ re experiencing right now. If it’s determined the Geneva Convention applies, she said the detainees might be categorized as lawful and unlawful combatants. These are the kinds of things national defense officials are looking at and deciding, she added.  One of the things US officials are, working on as they look at designation and disposition is how to identify people and what category they would belong in. "At the end of the day, after a lot of hard work and consideration and deliberation, the American people and the people around the world will see that we are A, treating these people very humanely, and B, adhering to the principles that we care very deeply about." A big part of the Geneva Convention’s intent is to ensure prisoners receive humane treatment, she noted. "I can say with absolute certainty that the detainees who are under US control are being treated very well."