Rumsfeld Warns of Indefinite Detentions

Jan. 17 -- Washington pledged its commitment to help in Afghanistan's reconstruction today as the U.S. Defense Secretary warned that some prisoners held in Cuba may be in detention indefinitely.

At a news briefing in Washington today, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said some of the al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners at a U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could end up in the U.S. criminal court system while others may be returned to their countries to face charges there.

But Rumsfeld warned that some of the prisoners at the facility in Cuba may be held in detention while additional intelligence information was gathered.

"These are quite dangerous people. They may just be kept in detention for a period," Rumsfeld told reporters today. "And there's no question there are a number down in Guantanamo Bay who, every time anyone walks by, threaten to kill Americans the first chance they get."

Rumsfeld's admission came as a team of Red Cross workers arrived in Cuba today and prepared to examine the facilities in Guantanamo Bay amid growing international concerns over the treatment and status of detainees.

An additional batch of 30 prisoners landed in Cuba today from Kandahar in southern Afghanistan as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim leader, in the capital of Kabul where Powell said the United States was committed to helping Afghanistan "for as long as it takes."

It was the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to Afghanistan since Henry Kissinger visited the country in 1976 before the Soviet occupation of 1979-1989.

Justice Department Releases Videotape

Powell's visit came as the U.S. Department of Justice released photographs and snippets of a video of five suspected terrorists in Washington today.

U.S. Attorney General John Aschroft said the five videotapes were recovered from the Afghanistan home of Mohammad Atef, who officials believe was a military chief of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.