A senior official in Obama’s administration revealed on May 31 that the transfer of the Afghan detainees is part of “a broader reconciliation framework” for Afghanistan that involves Qatar.
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan reports that Taliban negotiators in 2013 had asked for key Taliban figures held at Guantanamo to be transferred to Qatar in exchange for Bergdahl’s release so that the detainees could take part in Afghan peace talks through a Taliban political office in Qatar.
But that deal broke down last year, and the Taliban’s diplomatic office in Qatar was closed, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai opposed the move.
The five Afghans transferred to Qatar on May 31 include four key figures from the Taliban regime and one Afghan who is thought to have ties to the militant Haqqani network.
Obama said after Bergdahl’s release on May 31: “The Qatari government has given us assurances that it will put in place measures to protect our national security.”
Obama also 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 to Qatar with “great happiness.”
A senior White House official told reporters in Washington all five Afghan detainees were “under the control of Qatar” and “will be subject to restrictions on their movement and activities.”
That official insisted that 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.”
He also said the negotiations on Bergdahl’s release have 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 Emir of Qatar.”
He said: “By conducting successful indirect talks with the Taliban’s political commission, this transfer was part of a broader reconciliation framework.”
Four of the Afghan detainees were important Taliban cadres who were captured by U.S. forces in late 2001 or early 2002 after the collapse of the Taliban regime.
They include Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Taliban regime’s interior minister who is considered to be a relative moderate.
They also 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.
The fifth Afghan detainee, Mohammad Nabi, 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 – possibly by Haqqani network fighters with ties to the Taliban.
After undergoing a medical examination at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul on May 31, a Pentagon official said Bergdahl was being flown to a U.S. military base in Germany for further medical treatment early on June 1.
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.
Obama has expressed his gratitude to the governments of Qatar and Afghan for support to secure Bergdahl’s release.
With additional reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
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