Terrorists in Obama's Bergdahl Exchange Rejoin Taliban, Given Key Positions
While President Barack Obama lauded him as a hero, many questioned the wisdom of exchanging deserter Bowe Bergdahl for five hardcore Taliban terrorists.
And now, yet again, another poor decision on Obama’s part has come back to bite American in the backside.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the five members of the Afghan Taliban who were released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Bergdahl have joined the terrorist group’s political office in Qatar, according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
FIVE jihadis who were freed from Gitmo in exchange for Army deserter Sgt Bowe Bergdahl have joined Taliban’s political office in Qatar.
This public service message has been proudly brought to you by former President Barack Obama. https://t.co/N2yeu6Gf2e
— Secure Freedom (@securefreedom) October 31, 2018
Political analyst Haroun Mir told the AP that the men, who supposedly will be “negotiating for peace in Afghanistan,” actually will be fighting for a return to how things used to be.
“The Taliban are bringing back their old generation, which means the Taliban have not changed their thinking or their leadership,” he said. “What we are more worried about is if tomorrow the Taliban say, ‘We are ready to negotiate,’ who will represent Kabul? That is the big challenge because the government is so divided, not just ideologically but on ethnic lines.”
Remember all the promises that this would never happen?
https://t.co/5qSwZSB8q2— Kimberley Strassel (@KimStrassel) October 31, 2018
The U.S.-led invasion in 2001 ousted the Taliban from power, but that was not the end of the terrorist group.
The Taliban regrouped across the border in Pakistan, where it continues to fight the Western-backed government in Kabul.
The freeing of these five men is a huge moral victory and propaganda tool for the group.
Their elevated status gives them a platform to rally and recruit against the United States. They don’t have to return to the battlefield to be able to strategize, inspire and command from afar. They can be a threat and with less risk to themselves in such a position.
Hakim Mujahed, a member of the Afghan government’s peace council and former member of the Taliban, confirmed to the AP the kind of power and influence the five men hold.
“These people are respected among all the Taliban,” he said. “Their word carries weight with the Taliban leadership and the mujahedeen.”
All five Taliban commanders released by the Obama administration in the May 2014 Bowe Bergdahl swap were classified as “high risk” to pose a threat to the U.S. and allies.https://t.co/4m7ynKwwZD
— Fox News Research (@FoxNewsResearch) October 31, 2018
In addition to their being categorized as “high risk” prior to being released by Obama, the AP noted that there are deep concerns about one of the men in particular. Mohammed Fazl was responsible for overseeing the deaths of thousands of minority Shiites in 2000, according to Human Rights Watch.
Now he might be “brokering peace” as a Taliban representative.
In 2015, the House Armed Services Committee reported that the five men had resumed “threatening activities” after being sent to Qatar from Guantanamo Bay, Breitbart reported.
Anyone concerned about their activities as “envoys of peace” seems to have good reason.
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