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Captive U.S. Soldier Freed In Deal For Five Taliban

by RFE/RL May 31, 2014

U.S. President Barack Obama says U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl – a soldier held by the Taliban in Afghanistan for five years -- has been freed as part of a prisoner release deal with the Taliban.

Bergdahl was undergoing medical examinations at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul after being recovered by U.S. Special Forces on May 31.

A Pentagon official said he was being flown to a U.S. military base in Germany for further medical treatment early on June 1.

In exchange for his release, the United States has transferred five Afghan Taliban detainees from the U.S. military's detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the custody of Qatar.

Obama said: "The Qatari government has given us assurances that it will put in place measures to protect our national security."

A senior official in Obama's administration told reporters in Washington on May 31 that the five Afghan Taliban detainees were "under the control of Qatar" and "will be subject to restrictions on their movement and activities."

That official also insisted Washington "will not transfer any detainee from Guantanamo unless the threat the detainee may pose to the United States can be sufficiently mitigated and only when consistent with our humane treatment policy."

Obama's administration says Bergdahl's situation has long been a priority -- and that an opportunity arose several weeks ago to resume talks on his release, which involved "the personal commitment of the Amir of Qatar."

By conducting successful indirect talks with the Taliban's political commission, White House officials say the transfer of Taliban detainees is part of "a broader reconciliation framework."

They also say obtaining Bergdahl's release through diplomatic means has been "a vital goal in its own right" because of a "historic commitment to leave no soldier behind on the battlefield."

Obama expressed his gratitude to the governments of Qatar and Afghan for support to secure Bergdahl's release.

Obama said: "Going forward, the United States will continue to support an Afghan-led process of reconciliation – which could help secure a hard-earned peace within a sovereign and unified Afghanistan."

In Afghanistan, the Taliban issued a statement saying that it welcomes the transfer of the five Afghan detainees with "great happiness."

Several of the Taliban detainees are seen as important cadres in the movement who were captured in late 2001 or early 2002.

They include Mohammad Fazl, the deputy defense minister of the Taliban regime; Mullah Norullah Noori, who ran the northern province of Balkh for the Taliban regime; and Abdul Haq Wasiq, who was the deputy head of the Taliban intelligence service and a founding member of the movement.

They also include Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Taliban interior minister who is considered to be a relative moderate, and Mohammad Nabi, who is seen as having a minor role in the Taliban but may have ties to the militant Haqqani network.

Bergdahl had been held by Islamic militants since he was captured in Afghanistan's Paktika Province on June 30, 2009.

His father, Bob Bergdahl, told reporters in Washington on May 31 that he was a prisoner for so long that he is now having trouble remembering how to speak in English.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/captive-us-soldier-freed-for-release-of-five-taliban/25405806.html

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Captive U.S. Soldier Freed In Deal For Five Taliban