The heart of this scandal is the release of five Taliban die-hard veterans in exchange for a US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl,the icing on this cake is the fact that authorities in Kabul were the last to learn about this deal. In this regard, the administration of the Afghan president expressed outrage that Hamid Karzai did not know anything about the negotiations with the militants and accused the United States and Qatar of violations of the international law.
On top of all the Taliban fighters, which were exchanged for a captured American sergeant, were flown from Guantanamo military prison in Kabul to Doha. Those militants, as it has become known to journalists, occupied high positions in the Taliban movement, two of them are suspected of being involved in the killings of thousands of Shiites, along with operations and attacks against the US troops in Afghanistan. The release of Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured around five years ago when he left his post without permission, was carried out in the Khost province of Afghanistan, just on the border with Pakistan. Bowe Bergdahl has already passed all medical examinations at the US military hospital in Germany. According to President Obama, the Qatari government gave assurances that the danger posed by the released Taliban members will be minimal.
The Republican party has called this exchange a concession to terrorism and ever since it has been claming that the president’s administration has violated the law. “The President did not comply with U.S. law in giving Congress at least 30 days notice of any transfer from Guantanamo. This Administration is developing a track record of ignoring laws it finds inconvenient.” – said Republican Congressman Mac Thornberry.
American television channel Fox News announced that the five militants exchanged were extremely dangerous leaders of the Taliban movement that is associated with Al-Qaeda. Fox News, which has been a mouthpiece for the Republican Party, while citing a report from the Guantanamo military prison stated that the return of these militants to Afghanistan, including Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari, that were occupying key positions in the Taliban structure, could potenttially endanger the security of Western countries, including the United States. Meanwhile, Senator Lindsey Graham has sent a letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee, calling for an investigation of conditions and the procedure of the exchange. The correspondent of “Voice of America” in the Pentagon Jeff Seldin reported that the former Bergdahl’s commander, army Sgt. Evan Buetow said that: “People calling him a hero or calling him this great soldier? It’s a spit in the face to one, all the soldiers who were there.”
An article in the Rolling Stone published back in 2012 features some facts about Bowe Bergdahl, for instance shortly before his disappearance, he sent an email to his parents in Idaho. In his letter he was pointing out that he was deeply disappointed with the US. military action in Afghanistan. Bergdahl criticized the command of his division, claiming that the US military is not doing what it should. In conclusion, he wrote: “I am ashamed to be an American. The title of an American soldier – a deception for fools”.
The exchange rules were specific about the restriction imposed on the Taliban members, according to which they would not be able leave the country for at least a year and they would be spied upon. However, Qatari authorities have already provided those released with a full freedom of movement within the country and with housing, once again putting Washington and Barack Obama in an awkward position. Afghan Taliban leaders have already called this exchange “a great victory.” US authorities are stating that they had to save Sergeant Bergdahl. Commenting on the exchange, a spokesman for the White House Jay Carney said that the potential dangers that could come from the liberation of Taliban members are minimized and Qatar gave the White House assurances that these five detainees will pose no threat to the American national security.
The world’s media was quick to get down to bedrock of this strange exchange, stating that Barack Obama with his constant foreign policy failures is in an urgent need to take any actions that could explain Americans why the US is suffering one defeating blow after another. On the background of a number of brilliant victories of his counterpart Russian President Vladimir Putin on the international arena (just remember the historic gas deal with China) Obama’s actions are somehow bleak, and the ratings of the Nobel laureate are hitting one “all time low” after another. Under these conditions, the Washington administration grabs every opportunity that would remind people of its existence. However, Washington’s actions in Afghanistan have brought them no good.
In his turn Kabul released 65 prisoners suspected of terrorism. Earlier this year, the administration of President Hamid Karzai announced plans to release several dozen prisoners in connection with the lack of sufficient evidence of their guilt. Then the government released a report, according to which, more than 560 Afghans are detained in prison in Bagram without any good reason. Afghanistan News reported that: “They were released from prison, then they were given their personal clothing and a certain amount of cash. Then former prisoners received instruction from a priest and went home”.
These actions of the Afghan authorities have come under fire from Washington.The website of the US embassy in Kabul issued a statement about those actions, stating that: “Among those released today are individuals who are responsible for, or contributed to, the deaths of Afghan security force personnel, Afghan civilians, and American and other coalition personnel.” But Kabul has ignored this statement of its American allies, given the fact that by the end of 2014 the forces of the military coalition led by the United States would leave Afghanistan and they would hand over all control over the situation in the country to the Afghan army and police.
The candal with the exchange of prisoners has once again highlighted the extremely difficult US-Afghan relations on the eve of the withdrawal of US troops from the country. These relations, despite the fact that the White House had brought Karzai to power, has always been difficult, given the barbaric policies of Washington carried out in this country. Reuters has recently quoted a source close to President Hamid Karzai, who said that now Karzai has “even more suspicion” of the possible US intentions in Afghanistan. Afghan media has started asking uncomfortable questions, like those about the reasons of the occupation of Afghanistan, it is a well known fact that the masterminds behind the terrorist attacks of 9.11 were Saudis, not Afghans, but who would compensates the enormous human and material losses the Afghan country suffered through the years of occupation?
But Washington is always slow when it comes to answering uncomfortable questions. Apparently, Afghanistan and its president has lost political interest of the United States and NATO, since now they are more concerned with Ukraine where they try to deepen the political confrontation with Russia in every way possible. This means that Afghanistan has prematurely, even before the withdrawal, become “another country with a US military base”. For this reason, the solution of the Afghan issue is going to be transferred from the top of the US administration to the levels of State Department and Pentagon, which, of course, have no authority to take strategic decisions.
Thus, while being a lower political priority, along with the weakening of the foreign military presence , Afghanistan has once again become a political arena for the neighboring countries, especially Pakistan and Iran. Their role will increase significantly, and they will have more influence over this country that they had had before.
As for Hamid Karzai, who was brought to power by Washington despite the will of the Afghan people, he should remember this famous quote: “The Moor has done his duty the Moor can go”. The United States has never been sentimental with its allies and in the absence of vital interests were dumping them from the world’s chess board as unnecessary figures.
Mihin Victor, a member of RANS, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.
