US in discussions with Taliban over inmate exchange
(MENAFN) The Biden administration has been in talks with the Taliban since at least July to negotiate the release of three Americans detained in Afghanistan in exchange for Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, a Guantanamo Bay detainee with alleged ties to Osama bin Laden, according to the Wall Street Journal. The detained Americans—Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann, and Mahmood Habibi—were captured in 2022. The Taliban has requested the release of Rahim and two other Afghan prisoners in exchange for Corbett and Glezmann, while denying holding Habibi.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan informed congress in December that President Biden has yet to make a decision on the Taliban’s offer, which has frustrated the detainees' families. The State Department has labeled Corbett and Glezmann as wrongfully detained, and the FBI believes Habibi was taken by Afghan forces, though he has not been designated as wrongfully detained.
Rahim, who was captured in 2007 and held at a CIA “black site” before being transferred to Guantanamo, is accused of being an “al-Qaeda facilitator.” However, his lawyer insists there is no substantial evidence linking Rahim to al-Qaeda. The exchange proposal is a delicate matter for Biden, who has overseen the release of over 70 American hostages globally in recent years, but risks criticism for potentially releasing individuals deemed national security threats. The Pentagon recently reduced the Guantanamo detainee population with the transfer of 11 Yemeni prisoners to Oman.
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