...While it is almost universal for the media to describe this deal as a prisoner swap with the Taliban, the Washington Post article on the five released detainees very gingerly brushes past an important fact, about fifteen paragraphs in: Sgt. Bergdahl was not a prisoner of the Taliban. He was captured and held by the Haqqani terrorist network...More at the above link. Read it!
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Which makes the content of this prisoner swap even more suspicious, because only one of the five released detainees, Mohammed Nabi Omari, had strong ties to the Haqqani network (and also to al-Qaeda.) Thor wonders if the White House is breaking the law not only to grab a front-page “Obama saves captive American all by himself” media coup, but to conceal other aspects of the deal, such as a cash payment to the money-obsessed Haqqanis...
The US Treasury Department has added three senior Haqqani Network leaders to the list of Specially Designated Global terrorists today. The designations highlight the Haqqani Network's continued support of al Qaeda, as well as its members' ability to travel to and receive funding and aid from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Clearly, the Obama administration has negotiated with Islamic terrorists.
Saidullah Jan, a senior commander and financier; Yahya Haqqani, a senior leader involved with "military, financial, and propaganda activities"; and Muhammad Omar Zadran, a military commander, were added to the US' terrorism list.
Both Saidullah and Yahya are directly linked to al Qaeda. Saidullah traveled to Saudi Arabia to raise funds, most recently "in late 2013." Yahya "coordinated the transfer of supplies from the United Arab Emirates" to another Haqqani leader. Top Haqqani Network leaders are known to travel to Saudi Arabia to fundraise for both the network and al Qaeda.
The Haqqani Network is a powerful Taliban faction that operates in eastern, central, and northern Afghanistan, and is based in North Waziristan in Pakistan. The terror group has close links with al Qaeda, and is supported by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate. Sirajuddin is the operational commander of the Haqqani Network and leads the Miramshah Shura, one of four major Taliban regional councils. The US added Haqqani Network to list of global terror groups in August 2012.