To my knowledge, the U.S. has never exchanged captured enemy fighters or captured terrorists in exchange for a U.S. military member being held hostage. It seems to me that America has always held to the rule that America doesn't negotiate with terrorists. But, as we have seen so many times under the rule of President Barack Hussein Obama, America isn't what it used to be as it is being reported that the Obama administration and other officials are close to making a deal with the Taliban - we will release senior Taliban commanders and leaders being held in Gitmo for the return of U.S. army private Bowe Bergdahl.
From the report at The Telegraph:
The White House has "agreed in principle" to exchanging senior Taliban officials being held in Guantánamo Bay for Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier held captive since 2009, it was reported last night.
The talk are said to have come after a year of secret meeting between US diplomats and Tayyab Agha, a lieutenant of the fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
Under the terms of the deal, the US is reportedly prepared to swap up to five of the Taliban figures it has held since the beginning of the war in 2001.
What this all means is this - all of those kidnappings in the past where jihadis captured Americans and asked for ransom and payoffs will start cropping up all over again...we will see Americans at new risk across this planet. And as for our military personnel, we might see a completely different type of approach from the likes of the Taliban - instead of ambushes and such that we've seen in the past, we may start seeing jihadi operations designed to capture U.S. soldiers and Marines.
So there you have it - America is trying to complete its transformation from the super power of the world to just another middle of the pack, weak-kneed nation that negotiates with jihadis and terrorists...go ahead and grab our people and we'll give you what you want. Do I want Bowe Bergdahl home? Of course I do. But am I willing to set this precedence of giving in to the likes of the Taliban and release some of the most dangerous men on the planet? No.
US 'agrees in principle' to swap Taliban fighters for Bowe Bergdahl
The White House has "agreed in principle" to exchanging senior Taliban officials being held in Guantánamo Bay for Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier held captive since 2009, it was reported last night.
The 25-year-old's two-and-a-half years in enemy hands has been a source of deep anxiety to the American military, which has been forced to endure goading videos posted by his Taliban captors.
According to The Times, a deal has been given initial approval as part of back channel negotiations between the US State Department and the insurgency, circumventing the Afghan government.
The plans for direct peace talks involve setting up a "political office" for the Taliban in the Gulf state of Qatar. Yesterday, a Taliban spokesman said that the discussions would not be derailed by the emergence of a video showing US Marines urinating on the bodies of dead insurgents.
The talk are said to have come after a year of secret meeting between US diplomats and Tayyab Agha, a lieutenant of the fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
Reports of their existence has caused outrage in Kabul, which believes it is being sidelined as the US engages in backroom diplomacy with its battlefield enemies. Marc Grossman, the US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, will travel to Afghanistan today to placate President Hamid Karzai.
Under the terms of the deal, the US is reportedly prepared to swap up to five of the Taliban figures it has held since the beginning of the war in 2001.
There are differing versions of how Sergeant Bergdahl was captured. The Taliban claims he was snatched after wandering off of his base while drunk, an account strongly denied by the US military.
Since 2009 he has featured in at least five videos, with his captors variously demanding money and the release of prisoners in return for him.
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