Posted on 06/10/2014 7:23:42 AM PDT by RobinMasters
Facing growing skepticism on Capitol Hill about its decision to swap five Taliban prisoners for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the White House told lawmakers at a classified briefing late Monday night that some of the freed militants were political figures, not hardened soldiers, according to lawmakers who attended the session.
In the past several days, the administration has rolled out a number of reasons to justify swapping Bergdahl, a potential deserter, for the five Taliban officials. White House officials said they had concerns about Berdgahl's health, felt an obligation to never leave a soldier on the battlefield, and feared the militants were preparing to kill the missing soldier. But House lawmakers exiting a late Monday briefing said the administration was now shifting to a new defense that emphasized the lack of threat posed by the individuals that were released as part of the deal.
They discussed "the dangerousness of the individuals," or lack thereof, said Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) in an interview, referring to Abdul Haq Wasiq, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mullah Mohammad Fazi, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa and Mohammad Nabi Omari, otherwise known as the "Taliban Five." While Turner said he didn't trust the way the administration characterized their rap sheets, other Democratic lawmakers were convinced that claims about the Taliban Five being "hardcore" terrorists were exaggerated.
"They don't seem to have been combatants at all," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who attended Monday's briefing. "The guys we traded, you hear all kinds of things about ‘they killed Americans.' Three of them were governors of provinces under the Taliban government...They were governors."
(Excerpt) Read more at thecable.foreignpolicy.com ...
Revealed: Obama went to court to keep one of the ‘Taliban Five’ freed in Bergdahl deal...
wikileaks, Daily Mail
In 2011 a federal judge ruled that one of the five Taliban terror leaders traded by the White House for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl nine days ago was too dangerous to consider releasing, even if he had little chance of ever receiving a trial.
The same Obama administration that downplayed the likelihood Khairulla Said Wali Khairkhwa could return to the battlefield against the U.S. argued three years ago that he should be denied habeas corpus rights and kept locked away in an orange jumpsuit at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
The U.S. solicitor general’s office, arguing on behalf of the president – the named defendant in a federal lawsuit – told the court that Khairkhwa was in the class of terrorists who were actively involved in the leadership of a group that killed Americans.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3165750/posts
******
The Gitmo detainees swapped for Bergdahl: Who are they?
By CNN Staff
updated 7:55 PM EDT, Sat May 31, 2014
Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa
Khairkhwa was an early member of the Taliban in 1994 and was interior minister during the Taliban’s rule. He hails from the same tribe as Afghan President Hamid Karzai and was captured in January 2002. Khairkhwa’s most prominent position was as governor of Herat province from 1999 to 2001, and he was alleged to have been “directly associated” with Osama bin Laden. According to a detainee assessment, Khairkhwa also was probably associated with al Qaeda’s now-deceased leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. He is described as one of the “major opium drug lords in western Afghanistan” and a “friend” of Karzai. He was arrested in Pakistan and was transferred to Guantanamo in May 2002. During questioning, Khairkhwa denied all knowledge of extremist activities.
Watch this video
U.S. Army Sergeant released by Taliban
Mullah Mohammad Fazl
Fazl commanded the main force fighting the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance in 2001, and served as chief of army staff under the Taliban regime. He has been accused of war crimes during Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s. Fazl was detained after surrendering to Abdul Rashid Dostam, the leader of Afghanistan’s Uzbek community, in November 2001. He was wanted by the United Nations in connection with the massacre of thousands of Afghan Shiites during the Taliban’s rule. “When asked about the murders, he did not express any regret,” according to the detainee assessment. He was alleged to have been associated with several militant Islamist groups, including al Qaeda. He was transferred into U.S. custody in December 2001 and was one of the first arrivals at Guantanamo, where he was assessed as having high intelligence value.
Mullah Norullah Noori
Noori served as governor of Balkh province in the Taliban regime and played some role in coordinating the fight against the Northern Alliance. Like Fazl, Noori was detained after surrendering to Dostam, the Uzbek leader, in 2001. Noori claimed during interrogation that “he never received any weapons or military training.” According to 2008 detainee assessment, Noori “continues to deny his role, importance and level of access to Taliban officials.” That same assessment characterized him as high risk and of high intelligence value.
Abdul Haq Wasiq
Wasiq was the deputy chief of the Taliban regime’s intelligence service. His cousin was head of the service. An administrative review in 2007 cited a source as saying that Wasiq was also “an al Qaeda intelligence member” and had links with members of another militant Islamist group, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin. Wasiq claimed, according to the review, that he was arrested while trying to help the United States locate senior Taliban figures. He denied any links to militant groups.
Mohammad Nabi Omari
Omari was a minor Taliban official in Khost Province. According to the first administrative review in 2004, he was a member of the Taliban and associated with both al Qaeda and another militant group Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin. He was the Taliban’s chief of communications and helped al Qaeda members escape from Afghanistan to Pakistan. Omari acknowledged during hearings that he had worked for the Taliban but denied connections with militant groups. He also said that he had worked with a U.S. operative named Mark to try to track down Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/31/us/bergdahl-transferred-guantanamo-detainees/
So--no problem, right?
Their guys used to celebrate Christmas and play “badminton” with poor little Bergdahl, right Johnny boy? The T-Ban are just a bunch of good old boys.
“They were such good Germans...”. In another era.
If these Gitmo guys are so peaceful perhaps Congressman Nadler would like to give them jobs mowing his lawn, cleaning his office, washing his car or babysitting his kids.
Just a bunch of “knuckleheads”
Nadler you ignorant slut. Just how do you think they got to be "governors"? Clue: it wasn't because they graduated at the top of their class and their vast fraternity brother contacts.
Perhaps Obama should have them in for a Rose Garden pressor where he shakes their hands and congratulates them on their fight for freedom from the tyranny of the Bush Administration.
Then why were so many American lives and so much American materiel sacrificed to capture them in the first place?
These guys are totally harmless. In truth, they just want what everyone else wants: happiness, fulfillment, paradise. They just want to have “milk and honey” farms with 72 virgins in eternity.
Lies all day every day.
This was the point that Laz eloquently made in the previous thread that got nuked. I suggested a revision of the traditional "Problem Solving Flow Chart." The one that starts with "Did you (mess) with it?" Then, "Can you hide it?"
How many of those three were wanted by the UN for war crimes?
(I seem to remember it was 2 of the 5. But, is there any overlap with these 3?)
You've gotta be _hittin me!
“Governors”!? Say what you will about Illinois but nobody tells us when to let our governors out of prison!
Obama releases five terrorist bigwigs.
Al Qaeda takes over Mosul in Iraq.
The Taliban attack the biggest airport in Pakistan....twice.
The Democrat Party hitched their wagon to Obama and he has pulled them over a cliff.
EVERY terrorist operation now belongs to the Democrat Party.
Go visit them without your Secret Service protection then
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.