Pres Obama wants to swap Gitmo prisoners with Taliban before Afghan exit.....As MB 'Godfather' Qaradawi 'arranged' in 2011. HT: RussiaToday.
According to the Washington Post, the Obama administration intends to propose releasing five Taliban members currently in custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Bergdahl’s freedom.
Although a similar offer has been on the table for the last two years, the Post stated the deal was never sealed due to American insistence that its Taliban prisoners be released in ones or twos. Now, the White House, State Department, and Pentagon are reportedly willing to release all five prisoners at once into protective custody in Qatar.
The new offer has not been officially made, however. While government officials acknowledged the US wants to bring Bergdahl back, they did not comment on the proposed deal on the record.
“He’s been gone too long,” John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said Friday, according to the Post. “We want him back. We’ve never stopped trying to bring that about. He’s never far from anyone’s mind here.”
Bergdahl has been held prisoner since 2009, when he walked off an American base in eastern Afghanistan and fell into the hands of militants. As noted by Fox News, there are conflicting accounts of his capture.
American officials have stated that he left the base with three Afghans before being taken by insurgents,but the Taliban claimed it made a move when "a drunken American soldier had come out of his garrison."
In January, the United States intercepted a video recording that proved Bergdahl was still alive despite deteriorating health and attempts to escape his captors, prompting officials to consider new terms for a swap.
The decision to revive talks with the Taliban also comes at a time when the continued American military presence in Afghanistan is in doubt. Although the US is willing to leave behind a force of 10,000 troops beyond 2014, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has so far refused to sign onto a bilateral security agreement authorizing such a move. Without a security pact in place, all US troops would be out of the country by next year.
RELATED:
2011: Report: Radical Sheikh a Key Mediator in U.S.-Taliban Talks
2012: Obama Admin still following Muslim Brotherhood Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi plan to release Taliban prisoners from Gitmo.
Jan 11 -2012: Report: U.S. to Release Three Taliban Leaders from Guantanamo Bay, as in Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi plan. http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/01/report-us-to-release-three-taliban.html
March 11 -2012: "Commander in chief' Obama agrees to transfer the Taliban Guantanamo detainees to Qatar. http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/03/commander-in-chief-obama-agrees-to.html
June 30 - 2012: Obama administration still considering turning Taliban detainees over to Afghanistan and Qatar http://www.mfs-theothernews.com/2012/06/obama-administration-still-considering.html