Over the weekend, U.S. officials made a new offer to the Taliban to secure the release of Americans held in Afghanistan, according to people familiar with the matter.
U.S. officials declined to discuss negotiations or proposals. But the White House was working on a deal to bring back the American national in exchange for Mohammad Rahim, an Afghan detained at Guantanamo Bay since 2008, according to people briefed on the conversations.
The U.S. government says Rahim was a senior al-Qaida aide, but questions his role within the organization, saying he was a courier and translator and, if so, does not pose a threat to the United States. Some people suggest that it is. Released.
The Taliban have admitted they are holding two Americans. One of them, former aviation mechanic George Glezman, was traveling in Afghanistan when he was captured in December 2022. Another, Ryan Corbett, lived in Afghanistan with his family for a long time before the U.S.-backed government collapsed. He was on a business trip when he was arrested in August 2022.
The Taliban have refused to say whether they are holding a third American, whose return is also being sought by the U.S. government. The man, Mahmoud Habibi, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was captured shortly after al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a 2022 U.S. attack on Afghanistan.
Habibi’s family announced that they were arrested along with 30 others, all of whom worked for the same American company, Asia Consultancy Group, on suspicion of their involvement in the U.S. drone strike that killed the Qaeda leader. U.S. officials have not said whether Habibie was involved in the attack, and his condition is unknown.
However, his father Ahmadullah and brother Ahmad denied his involvement. Habibi was out of the country at the time of the attack, but arrived in Afghanistan a few days later, he said. They also said, based on “several independent sources in Afghanistan,” that he was alive and last known to be in the custody of the Government Intelligence Directorate.
National Security Council spokesman Sean Savet said the Biden administration has negotiated the return of more than 75 Americans held overseas. He said authorities were “working around the clock” to ensure the return of Glezman, Corbett and Habibie.
“The administration will continue to do so throughout the remainder of its term,” he added.
The regime had previously proposed to the Taliban to secure the release of the three men on November 14th. The proposal was previously reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Rahim has never been charged with a crime while being held at Guantanamo. James G. Connell III, a defense attorney who represented Mr. Rahim during his detention review hearing, said Mr. Rahim had indicated he was willing to take the trade, but the U.S. government had not contacted them. .
“We have not received any formal confirmation from any government that negotiations are or have been ongoing in this regard,” Connell said.
Rahim is currently not eligible for transfer from Guantanamo. The federal National Security Review Board has repeatedly determined that he is too dangerous to be released, and recently November 21, 2023.
But U.S. officials are considering transferring him to Qatar as part of a prisoner exchange, according to people briefed on the talks.
The Pentagon is legally required to notify Congress 30 days before detainees are released from Guantanamo.
But the Obama administration ignored that request when it sent five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo to Qatar in exchange for the release of Sgt. 2014, Bowe Bergdahl. Like Rahim, none of these prisoners were approved for release through the National Security Review Board process.
Republicans criticized the Bergdahl trade, and a Government Accountability Office investigation concluded that the Obama administration violated the law.
However, Dennis M. Fitzpatrick, the Glezman family’s attorney, Former terrorism prosecutorsaid Rahim had been improperly classified as ineligible for release and that the government had for years exaggerated the risk he posed.
“He is no longer a national security threat,” Fitzpatrick said. “He was completely unable to function as a fighter or an organizer. He also is not an intelligence risk to the United States and has no intelligence value. He is inactive and has no intelligence problem. If not, he is not a national security threat.”
In a letter to the White House last July, Glezman’s wife, Alexandra Glezman, spoke of President Biden’s long commitment to public service while promoting the deal.
“I ask that you personally intervene in George’s affairs and do everything in your power to bring him home,” she wrote. “We understand that the Taliban pose an extreme geopolitical challenge to the United States, but we are not saying securing George’s release will be easy. I didn’t come to office to do that.”
Mr. Corbett and his family lived in Kabul from 2010 to 2021. After leaving Afghanistan during the withdrawal of American troops, Mr. Corbett returned to travel to support the Afghan employees of his microlending and consulting business.
Since his arrest, his wife, Anna Corbett, and their children have been lobbying White House and Washington officials for his release.
Both families met with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan late last year.
