5 Taliban Freed by Obama for Army Deserter Bergdahl Are Back Fighting US Again
Five members of the Afghan Taliban who were freed from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for captured American Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have joined the terrorist group's political office in Qatar.
One of the five, Mohammed Fazl, is accused of overseeing the massacre of thousands of Shiites and Ethnic Pashtuns. Another, Khairullah Khairkhwa, was a friend of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
All five of the former Gitmo detainees were close to the hard-line founder of the Taliban movement, Mullah Mohammed Omar
The Taliban 5 were released by President Obama in 2014.
Bergdahl, who had been held in Taliban custody since 2009 when he wandered off a US Army base, was given a dishonorable discharge last year and fined $1,000 on charges of desertion and misbehavior.
Some have noted that Bergdahl was treated by the Obama administration as a hero who served his country with "honor and distinction" and that his parents were afforded a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House.
After years of bloody conflict, the Taliban have now gained control over large swaths of Afghanistan, and they're trying to negotiate a peace deal with the US and the Afghan government. The Taliban 5 will be involved in those negotiations.
