The United States and Afghanistan signed an agreement on Friday on the transfer of a major U.S.-run detention centre to Afghan authorities. The Strategic Partnership Agreement, which Washington and Kabul have been discussing for over a year, will be the framework for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when the last foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan. Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, who signed the deal to hand over the prison at Bagram airbase, said an Afghan general would soon be appointed to take charge of it. The transfer would be completed in about six months, Reuters reported. "The signing of this memorandum is an important step forward in our Strategic Partnership negotiations," said General John Allen, commander of the United States forces in Afghanistan, at the ceremony.
