“Using the release of documented, high ranking enemies of the United States as pawns to inspire negotiations is not the way the United States “does business” with those who would slit our throats” - DRH
By Dell Hill
The Taliban have been pressing for the release of their top leaders from Guantanamo ahead of the planned peace talks with Washington (File Photo).
Maybe it’s another example of the “smart” foreign policy of the Obama administration. Maybe it’s the dumbest possible move he could have made. If this report from PressTV is accurate, I’d be willing to predict it will not end well.
“The United States has reportedly released three high-ranking Taliban leaders from Guantanamo Bay Prison in return for an American soldier held by the militant group.
The move is also considered as a big concession by Washington to persuade the Taliban to the negotiating table.
The three senior Taliban leaders are reportedly on their way to Qatar despite strong opposition from Afghanistan.
According to media reports, the released prisoners include Mullah Khair Khowa, a former interior minister, Noorullah Noori, a former governor in northern Afghanistan and maybe Mullah Fazl Akhund, a Taliban Army Chief of Staff.
Kabul says the prisoners must be sent directly to Afghanistan, stressing that their transfer to Qatar is a breach of Afghanistan's sovereignty, Afghan laws or the Afghan constitution.
The Taliban, which is planning to open a political office in Qatar for peace talks with Washington, has recently been pressing hard for the release of its top commanders from US custody ahead of possible negotiations.
Analysts, however, believe that US President Barack Obama's decision to release the top Taliban commanders will do tremendous harm to American national security and to his prospects for reelection.”
Dell’s Bottom Line:
I can’t even begin to tell you what an uproar this move will create...and at every possible level.
Using the release of documented, high ranking enemies of the United States as pawns to inspire negotiations is not the way the United States “does business” with those who would slit our throats in an instant, if given the opportunity. The odds of failure on this move are enormous.
Perhaps President Obama plans to close Gitmo by releasing all of the prisoners? He’s taken the first step in that direction.
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