This is a surprise to no one — probably not even Barack Obama, since he himself has admitted that the jihadis he freed are “absolutely” a threat to the United States. That does call his motivations in making the Bergdahl deal into question, but not to worry: no one in the mainstream media will dare to challenge him on this.
“Afghans say Taliban prisoners freed by U.S. will rejoin battle,” by Jessica Donati and Hamid Shalizi, Reuters, June 1, 2014:
KABUL (Reuters) – The release of five Taliban prisoners in exchange for a U.S. soldier has drawn criticism from some Afghans, who say the detainees are dangerous and will rekindle ties with terrorist networks to resume fighting, just as most foreign troops leave.
The men had been held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 2002 and were classed by the Pentagon as “high-risk” and “likely to pose a threat”.
Two are also implicated in the murder of thousands of minority Shi’ite Muslims in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. military.
They were released in a swap with U.S. army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the sole American prisoner of war held in Afghanistan who was flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany on Sunday.
“They will definitely go back to fight, if health-wise they are able to go,” said a top official at Afghanistan’s spy agency, who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the topic.
“They will be very dangerous people, because they have connections with regional and international terror organizations around the world.”
The Taliban denied the prisoners would return to battle but said the swap should not be regarded as a gesture of good will or a step towards the revival of peace talks between Islamist insurgents and the Afghan government.
“This is purely a negotiation between the Taliban and the Americans… It won’t help the peace process in any way, because we don’t believe in the peace process,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid….