Biden urged to secure release of U.S. man

WASHINGTON — As the Biden administration considers whether it should pull remaining U.S. troops out of Afghanistan in the coming months, some fear for the fate of an American who could be left behind: an abducted contractor believed held by a Talibanlinked militant group.

On the one-year anniversary of Mark Frerichs’ abduction, family members and other supporters are urging the Biden administration not to withdraw additional troops without the Navy veteran being released from captivity. Frerichs was abducted one year ago Sunday while working in the country on engineering projects. U.S. officials believe he is in the custody of the Haqqani network, though the Taliban

have not publicly holding him.

“We are confident that he’s still alive and well,” his sister, Charlene Cakora, said in an interview. “We don’t have any thinking that he’s dead or that he’s injured.”

For U.S. diplomats, Frerichs’ captivity is a piece of a much larger

acknowledged geopolitical puzzle that aims to balance bringing troops home, after a two-decade conflict, with ensuring regional peace and stability. Biden administration officials have made clear that they are reviewing a February 2020 peace deal between the United States and the Taliban, concerned by whether the Taliban are meeting its commitment to reduce violence in Afghanistan.

The Trump administration, which had made the release of hostages and detainees a priority, ended without having brought home Frerichs, who is from Lombard, Ill. He is one of several Americans the Biden administration is inheriting responsibility for, including journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, as well as U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and Michigan corporate executive Paul Whelan, both of whom are imprisoned in

Russia.

New Secretary of State Antony Blinken held his first call Thursday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and told him the administration was reviewing the peace deal. A State Department description of the conversation did not mention Frerichs. Separately, the Pentagon said the Taliban’s refusal to meet commitments to reduce violence in Afghanistan is raising questions about whether all U.S. troops will be able to leave by May.

Frerichs’ supporters are concerned that a drawdown of military personnel from Afghanistan leaves the U.S. without the leverage it needs to demand his release.

“Further troop withdrawals that are not conditioned upon the release of American hostages will likely make it harder to subsequently secure their release,” the two Democratic senators from Illinois, Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, wrote Biden in a letter provided to the AP.

In an interview, Duckworth said Lloyd Austin, the new defense secretary, had given assurances that any negotiations about military presence would include discussion about detainees “as opposed to us just unilaterally pulling out of there.”

The State Department is offering $5 million for information leading to Frerichs’ return.

“I don’t want any troops to start packing up and heading out until Mark gets home safely, because I don’t think we really have a leg to stand on once they’re all out of there,” Cakora said. “You don’t leave Americans behind, and I just really want to make sure that he’s home safe.”

Associated Press file photo Mark Frerichs, a contractor from Illinois, was abducted in Afghanistan last year.