Freed Taliban leaders face longer travel ban
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is closing in on an agreement with Qatar to extend travel bans for five senior Taliban leaders released last year from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, U.S. officials said Friday.
A deal now being negotiated with Qatar would see the restrictions that expire Monday extended for another six months, the officials said. If the talks are successful, the agreement could be announced soon, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly speak to the matter.
The White House on Friday said discussions were underway with Qatar as to how the former detainees should be handled.
Under the terms of the May 2014 exchange, the five detainees were sent to Qatar, where government officials agreed to monitor their activities and prevent them from traveling out of the country for one year. In return, Bergdahl, who had been held captive by the Taliban for nearly five years after walking away from his Army post in Af- ghanistan, was released to the U.S. military. He recently was charged with desertion.
One or more of the detainees met with some members of the al-Qaida-affiliated Haqqani militant group in Qatar earlier in the year, according to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. That was an indication that the group was reaching out to communicate with the so-called Taliban Five, said Graham.
But U.S. officials have noted in the past that the five Taliban leaders are middle-aged or older, were former officials in the Taliban government and probably wouldn’t be seen again on any battlefield, although they could continue to be active members of the Taliban.