Posted on 01/09/2012 11:22:47 AM PST by Cardhu
The United States has reportedly released three high-ranking Taliban leaders from Guantanamo Bay Prison in return for an American soldier held by the militant group.
The move is also considered as a big concession by Washington to persuade the Taliban to the negotiating table.
The three senior Taliban leaders are reportedly on their way to Qatar despite strong opposition from Afghanistan.
According to media reports, the released prisoners include Mullah Khair Khowa, a former interior minister, Noorullah Noori, a former governor in northern Afghanistan and maybe Mullah Fazl Akhund, a Taliban Army Chief of Staff.
Kabul says the prisoners must be sent directly to Afghanistan, stressing that their transfer to Qatar is a breach of Afghanistan's sovereignty, Afghan laws or the Afghan constitution.
The Taliban, which is planning to open a political office in Qatar for peace talks with Washington, has recently been pressing hard for the release of its top commanders from US custody ahead of possible negotiations.
Analysts, however, believe that US President Barack Obama's decision to release the top Taliban commanders will do tremendous harm to American national security and to his prospects for reelection.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, under US pressure, agreed to let the militant group establish an office outside Afghanistan. The Afghan president strongly rejected the idea previously, saying that he was not consulted with over the potential venue of a Taliban office.
In December, the Afghan government recalled its Ambassador to Qatar Khalid Ahmad Zakaria to protest at Doha "secretly negotiating" with the US and Germany over the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar.
Washington's decision to hold negotiations with the Taliban comes after a decade the US-led war on Afghanistan under the pretext of toppling the Taliban regime.
The 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan has claimed numerous civilian lives and destroyed the country's infrastructure.
A sure sign of the weakness in the administration. This is not good.
During WWII, Korea and even Vietnam repatriation and prisoner swaps were common. Someone tell my why this war should be any different?
I think we should have released a low level Taliban foot soldier in exchange for our enlisted POW. However we wanted to sweeten the pot in order to bring the Taliban to the bargaining table.
One indisputable truth is that 10 years from now there will not be any American soldiers in Afghanistan while those who fought for the Taliban will still be there. What becomes of those former Taliban solders is something which we can have a hand in, or not. I would prefer to leave the country and see the Taliban melt into the fabric of a more peaceful part of the world.
The entire administration should be tried for treason.
Hi,
I’m not sure where to post this, but can somebody give an opinion about the Uyghurs who are still at Gitmo? Apparently everybody agrees these people are guilty of no crime, yet five of them are still at the prison. To me this doesn’t sound fair. Can someone weigh in on this — I only heard about it today. Thanks.
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