The US has reportedly begun prisoner swap talks with the Taliban to bring home Americans trapped in Afghanistan for a terror suspect believed to be an associate of former Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
Muhammad Rahim al Afghani has been held without charge or trial in the Guantánamo Bay detention camp since 2008.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration told the Taliban in November that it would release him if Afghan rulers released George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett and Mahmoud Habibi.
The three were seized in 2022.
The Taliban quickly counter-offered, saying they wanted Rahim and two other prisoners in exchange for Glezmann and Corbett. They deny imprisoning Habibi, who once worked for the ousted Afghan government but was working for a private company when the Taliban came to power in 2021.
The negotiations illustrate the dilemma facing Washington and other foreign governments: negotiate with a pariah state or let nationals languish in Afghan detention.
Biden has not yet made a decision on the Taliban’s proposal, according to attendees at a secret meeting of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, which was briefed by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The panel’s chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), reportedly warned against the deal.
Muhammad Rahim al Afghani has been held without charge or trial for 19 years and is currently incarcerated in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp
George Glezmann, a 65-year-old aircraft mechanic from Georgia, was arrested in 2022 while visiting Afghanistan as a tourist
Rahim is the last Afghan held at Guantanamo Bay and is often described as a “forever prisoner” after multiple review boards refused to recommend him for release.
Pakistani media reported that he was captured in the city of Lahore in 2007 before being handed over to the US.
He was described as one of bin Laden’s most trusted aides and procurement specialist, something he has always denied.
“He had prior knowledge of many of al-Qaeda’s major attacks, including advanced knowledge of 9/1 I, and continued to pay for, plan, and participate in attacks in Afghanistan against U.S. and coalition targets by al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other militant anti-coalition groups,” states his Guantanamo Detainee Profile, prepared by the Periodic Review Secretariat.
His release could be extremely damaging for Washington.
He was the last detainee to undergo the CIA’s “Rendition, Detention and Interrogation” program, which included sleep deprivation and other treatments later defined as torture.
His release would pose new political problems for a president whose foreign policy took a hit after the disastrous 2021 withdrawal.
Sean Savett, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said: “The safety and security of Americans abroad is one of the top priorities of the Biden-Harris administration, and we are working around the clock to ensure the safe return of George, Ryan and Mahmoud to guarantee.’
Ryan Corbett, a 40-year-old father of three who ran NGOs in Afghanistan, had returned to the country in 2022 to pay and train staff when he was snatched. Seen here with his wife Anna
Mahmoud Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman, was kidnapped while working for the Asia Consultancy Group, a Kabul-based telecommunications company
Glezmann, a 65-year-old aircraft mechanic from Georgia, was arrested in 2022 while visiting as a tourist.
Corbett, a 40-year-old father of three who led NGOs in Afghanistan, had returned to the country in 2022 to pay and train staff when he was snatched.
Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman, was taken in a separate incident. At the time, he worked for the Asia Consultancy Group, a Kabul-based telecommunications company.
A Trump transition spokesperson said the new president is committed to the release of all American hostages.
“Things are only going to get worse for every hostage taker once President Trump takes office,” said Brian Hughes.