U.S. Weighs Releasing Taliban Commander From Gitmo as Part of Peace Talks

Hmmm...I missed the press conference and major news story where the U.S. announced that we have abandoned our policy of not negotiating with terrorists. Not only has BHO abandoned our non-negotiation policy with terrorists, he is now considering releasing a known Taliban commander from GITMO to appease the Afghan Taliban. BHO's administration is in peace talks with the Taliban? WTF? Ask the Israelis how effective peace talks are with terrorists. Oh, wait, that would mean that a liberal would have to abandon his ideology and look at reality and proven examples of what works and doesn't work. Yeah, that'll never happen.
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U.S. Weighs Releasing Taliban Commander From Gitmo as Part of Peace Talks


WASHINGTON – The U.S. is considering a proposal to transfer a top Taliban commander out of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay as part of a potential step toward peace talks with the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that Mullah Mohammed Fazl is among the prisoners being considered for release. Held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002, Fazl was suspected in sectarian killings of Shiite Muslims before the U.S. invasion that toppled the Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2001.

The U.S. alleges he was a top Taliban official who at one point commanded thousands of troops.

According to Reuters, WikiLeaks documents also placed him at the scene of a 2001 prison riot where CIA officer Johnny Micheal Spann was killed, though it's unclear whether Fazl was involved.

Any prisoner transfer would be part of a trust-building effort to renew peace talks next year with the Taliban that had reached a critical point before falling apart this month because of objections from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

One goal of renewed talks with the insurgents would be to identify cease-fire zones that could be used as a steppingstone toward a full peace agreement that stops most fighting, a senior administration official told The Associated Press -- a goal that remains far out of reach.

U.S. officials from the State Department and White House plan to continue a series of secret meetings with Taliban representatives in Europe and the Persian Gulf region next year, assuming a small group of Taliban emissaries the U.S. considers legitimate remains willing, two officials said.

The proposed trust-building measures were a Taliban headquarters office and the release from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, of about five Afghan prisoners considered affiliated with the Taliban. Those steps were to be matched by assurances from at least part of the Taliban leadership that the insurgents would cut ties with Al Qaeda, accept the elected civilian government of Afghanistan and bargain in good faith.