The Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar has temporarily extended a travel ban on five former Guantanamo Bay detainees who were released last year in exchange for captured Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
Talks between U.S., Qatari and Afghan officials on the long-term fate of the five Taliban leaders are continuing, The Associated Press reported Sunday, citing a senior U.S. official.
Monday marked the end of the one-year travel ban on the so-called “Taliban Five,” who had been required to reside and be monitored in Qatar as a key condition for their release in exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl. The only American prisoner of war in the Afghanistan conflict, Sgt. Bergdahl walked away from his post and was captured in 2010. He has since been charged with desertion.
CIA Director John O. Brennan said Sunday that U.S.-Qatari talks are ongoing and that he does not want the five terrorist leaders — Mohammad Fazl, Khairullah Khairkhwa, Norullah Noori, Mohammad Nabi Omari and Abdul Haq Wasiq — to return to Afghanistan.
“I want to make sure that they’re not going to be allowed to return to the fight,” Mr. Brennan said CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Some intelligence experts believe the prisoner exchange placed U.S. interests at risk.
SEE ALSO: ‘Taliban Five’ travel ban set to expire; ex-Gitmo detainees exchanged for Bowe Berghdal
“I tried to be generous when it was first announced because ’no man left behind,’ but in the cool light of day, I think it was a bad move,” said retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, a former director of the National Security Agency and the CIA who writes a column for The Washington Times. “I’m troubled we did this for someone [for] whom there was good evidence at the time was a deserter, and now beyond that, you have a precedent that the U.S. does indeed negotiate over hostages.”
Paul Miller, a former adviser on national security issues for the Obama and George W. Bush administrations, said the U.S. government negotiating with terrorists for American lives diminishes the country’s prominence abroad and undercuts the standing of U.S. allies.
“Talking with the Taliban is necessary to ending this war — but not in a way that compromises U.S. interests in South Asia or the Afghan government’s viability,” Mr. Miller said.
Meanwhile, retired Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, downplayed the danger posed by the Taliban officials, saying he doubts they would return to their network in a “key operational role” if freed because of their long captivity at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“The five that are back — presumably, they will go back to the battlefield, but they won’t change the dynamics,” Mr. McChrystal said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “It’s not going to change the balance of effort there, five guys, but it’s just something we are — watch as we go forward.”
Of the exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl, Mr. McChrystal said: “It’s hard to make a judgment on a deal like that. It’s an American soldier, and so getting him back to me is a pretty sacred responsibility.”
SEE ALSO: Bowe Bergdahl could get lesser sentence for desertion, legal experts say
The AP reported that the Obama administration had sought to extend the travel ban for another six months. The White House acknowledged that discussions were underway with Qatar as to how the former detainees should be handled but has refused to divulge details.
At least one of the five allegedly contacted militants during the past year while in Qatar, the AP reported. No details have been disclosed about that contact, but the White House confirmed that one was put under enhanced surveillance.
Since the onset of the war on terror, 116 of the 647 former Guantanamo detainees transferred to another country have been “confirmed of reengaging” in terrorism, a recidivism rate of 17.9 percent, according to a March report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Sixty-nine former detainees (10.7 percent) are “suspected of reengaging” in such activity.
Of the confirmed and suspected recidivists, 27 are dead, 35 are in custody and 123 are at large, according to the report.
“Based on trends identified during the past eleven years, we assess that some detainees currently at [Guantanamo] will seek to reengage in terrorist or insurgent activities after they are transferred,” the report states. “Transfers to countries with ongoing conflicts and internal instability as well as active recruitment by insurgent and terrorist organizations pose particular problems.
“While enforcement of transfer conditions may deter reengagement by many former detainees and delay reengagement by others, some detainees who are determined to reengage will do so regardless of any transfer conditions, albeit probably at a lower rate than if they were transferred without conditions,” the intelligence report warns.
Currently, Guantanamo holds 122 detainees. The White House aims to get the number below 100 to expedite the facility’s closure.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Jeffrey Scott Shapiro can be reached at jshapiro@washingtontimes.com.
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