WASHINGTON, June 1, 2014 — Once U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl safely reached a U.S. base in Germany, a plane carrying five detainees left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba heading to Qatar.
The exchange was arranged through the government of Qatar when concern for Sgt. Bergdahl’s health and safety escalated.
Sgt. Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan five years ago after he walked away from his post for reasons unknown.
Two years into Bergdahl’s captivity, the Taliban released a video of their prisoner and suggested for the first time a possible exchange of Bergdahl for five named Taliban detainees.
During the negotiations, the Qatar government agreed to take responsibility for the detainees and ensured that they would not leave Qatar for a one year period.
READ ALSO: Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl’s release: A deal with the devil
Although American’s are happy for the release of one of their own there is an uncomfortable feeling about the negotiations.
Despite Hagel’s insistence that this was a routine POW exchange, many see it as giving into threats of terrorists.
The Taliban who were released are mid to high level leaders of the Taliban who were detained due to their leadership roles in the Taliban and not for known association with Al-Qaeda, but were also on a list by the Obama administration of detainees that should be held indefinitely.
Below is the information of those released by the United States according to their Guantanamo Dockets, in the exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl:
Abdul Haq Wasiq
Place of Birth: Ghazni, Afghanistan
Date of Birth: 1971
Citizenship: Afghanistan
Recommendation: Recommendation for continued detainment
Assessment: HIGH risk as he is likely to pose a threat to US and allies.
Reason for detainment: This detainee was a high-level Taliban intelligence officer who has direct access to Taliban leadership. He was central to Taliban efforts to form alliances with other Islamic fundamentalist groups to fight against the US and Coalition forces. He also coordinated intelligence training between al-Qaeda and the Taliban
Value: The detainee is considered to be of HIGH intelligence value. He may have in-depth knowledge of high-value terrorists still engaged in hostilities. He should have a working knowledge of Taliban intelligence operations and procedures.
Mullah Norullah Noori
Place of Birth: Shayjoy, Zabul Province, Afghanistan
Date of Birth: 1967
Citizenship: Afghanistan
Recommendation: Recommended for continued detainment
Assessment: HIGH risk as he is likely to pose a threat to US and allies.
Reason for Detainment: Detainee is an admitted senior member of the Taliban and led troops against the US and Coalition forces. He was directly subordinate to Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar, commanded Taliban forces in Northern Afghanistan and in late 2001 was in charge of Taliban troops positioned near Mazar-e-Sharif. The detainee is wanted by UN for possible war crimes including the murder of thousands of Shiites. He is also associated with members of al-Qaeda, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, and the Hezb-E-Islami Gulbuddin. He continues to encourage acts of aggression and his brother is a current Taliban commander.
Value: Determined to be of HIGH intelligence value. He has held positions that provided access to sensitive information. Had access to information on weapons, opium trade, money networks and extremist activities. Detainee is considered one of the most significant Taliban officials detained.
Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa
Place of Birth: Argastan, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Date of Birth: 1967
Citizenship: Afghanistan
Recommendation: Recommended for continued detainment
Assessment: HIGH risk as he is likely to pose a threat to US and allies.
Reason for Detainment: Detainee was a senior Taliban official serving as the Minister of Interior, Governor of Herat and a military commander. He was directly associated to UBL and Mullah Omar and was added to the UN financial freeze list. Detainee attended a meeting at the direction of UBL, along with members of HAMAS. He attended meetings with Iranian officials seeking to support hostilities against the US. He was associated with militant training camp in Heart. He was identified as a narcotics trafficker and became one of the premier opium drug lords in Western Afghanistan. It is believed that he used the profits from the drugs to promote Taliban interests.
Value: Assessed to be of HIGH intelligence value. Detainee was a high level official with connections to many other high ranking officials. Should be able to provide information on Mullah Omar and high ranking Iranian officials. The detainee can provide information on the Opium trade and militant training camps.
Mohammed Nabi Omari
Place of Birth: Metakhan Village, Khowst Province, Afghanistan
Date of Birth: 1968
Citizenship: Afghanistan
Recommendation: Recommended for continued detainment
Assessment: HIGH risk as he is likely to pose a threat to US and allies.
Reason for Detainment: Detainee was a senior Taliban official who served in multiple leadership roles. He has strong ties to active ACM networks including al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and HIG personnel. He was involved in HIG attacks against the US forces and supported extremist elements through weapon smuggling and storage. During detention his behavior was aggressive and non-compliant towards guards and forces. He had more than 37 reports of discipline infractions including one where he threw a cup of feces at the face of a guard and others including mass disturbances, threats, attempted suicide, possession of drugs and damage to property.
Value: He is of HIGH intelligence value. He has knowledge of many high ranking officials, networks and extremist organizations. The detainee is believed to also have information about human smuggling networks through Khowst Province.
Mullah Mohammed Fazl
Place of Birth: Sekzi, Charchineh District, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan
Date of Birth:1967
Citizenship: Afghanistan
Recommendation: Recommended for continued detainment.
Assessment: HIGH risk as he is likely to pose a threat to US and allies.
Reason for Detainment: Detainee is an admitted senior Taliban official who was assigned to the position of Deputy Minister of Defense. Detainee also served as the Chief of Staff of the Taliban Army and the Commander of the 22nd Division. Detainee is wanted by the UN for possible war crimes including the murder of thousands of Shiites. He has association with significant al-Qaeda and other extremist personnel. If released the detainee would likely rejoin the Taliban and reestablish ties with anti-American militias.
Value: He is of HIGH intelligence value. Detainee’s placement and access provided him knowledge on many key individuals, decisions and activities of the Taliban. He has specific information on groups that provided support to the Taliban. Detainee also has significant information on Taliban and al-Qaeda personnel still active today.
Click here for reuse options!Copyright 2014 Communities Digital News
• The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or management of Communities Digital News.
This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities Digital News, LLC. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
Correspondingly, Communities Digital News, LLC uses its best efforts to operate in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine under US Copyright Law and always tries to provide proper attribution. If you have reason to believe that any written material or image has been innocently infringed, please bring it to the immediate attention of CDN via the e-mail address or phone number listed on the Contact page so that it can be resolved expeditiously.
