As Twitchy reported earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his concern that the new Taliban interim government in Afghanistan was not only all-male but that it included people “who have very challenging track records.” Among those holding positions in the new government are a terrorist wanted by the FBI and four former Guantanamo Bay prisoners exchanged by President Barack Obama for former U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
Four out of five Guantanamo detainees whom Obama released in exchange for former U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in 2014 now hold senior positions in the interim government created by the Taliban in Afghanistan. https://t.co/xmOWULi2Nj
— Kyle Morris (@RealKyleMorris) September 7, 2021
At least we got Bergdahl back https://t.co/wCvQl56GZ5
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 7, 2021
1. It appears that 4 of the 5 ex-Guantanamo detainees exchanged for Bowe Bergdahl in 2014 have senior positions in the Taliban’s resurrected Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. https://t.co/OT6LATlaXc
— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 7, 2021
2. Khairullah Khairkhwa is the acting minister for information and culture.
Noorullah Noori is the acting minister of borders and tribal affairs.
Abdul Haq Wasiq is the acting director of intelligence.
Mohammad Fazl is the deputy defense minister.— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 7, 2021
3. The fifth ex-Guantanamo detainee exchanged for Bergdahl is Mohammad Nabi Omari, who was reportedly named the governor of Khost. You can read about all five here — in a piece from 2014:https://t.co/nntTA9q1OE
— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 7, 2021
4. Abdul Haq Wasiq returns to his role in intelligence, as he was a senior intel official for the Taliban pre-9/11. U.S. officials concluded he worked with al-Qaeda in that role. See piece above.
— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 7, 2021
5. Mohammad Fazl was a deputy defense minister for the Taliban in 2001. And so he is once again. U.S. officials found that Fazl worked with senior al Qaeda personnel, including Abdel Hadi al Iraqi, one of Osama bin Laden's chief lieutenants. Al Iraqi is still held at Guantanamo.
— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 7, 2021
6. Khairkhwa admittedly helped broker a deal with the Iranians to work together against the Americans in Afghanistan. See here: https://t.co/qy9r9NSBHC
— Thomas Joscelyn (@thomasjoscelyn) September 7, 2021
— ALHICKS (@ALHICKS21) September 7, 2021
Oh, and in other news, the Taliban’s new interior minister is on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for a hotel bombing that killed an American. As Peter Doocy told Jen Psaki today, there are more terrorists wanted by the FBI than women in the new government.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is wanted by the FBI for $10 million, is a "specially designated global terrorist" in the bureau's database.
He is believed to be holding at least one American hostage, and he will oversee law enforcement in the Taliban's regime.https://t.co/4JXjeXE3O8
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) September 8, 2021
I thought it might've been an oversight that @nytimes yesterday overlooked that Haqqani, the new Minister of Interior of the Taliban regime, is a wanted terrorist, replete with $10 million reward & FBI poster. But it is, incredibly, not mentioned in the final print version. https://t.co/atEVzSGn9R
— Gary Weiss (@gary_weiss) September 8, 2021
Sirajuddin Haqqani is on the FBI’s most wanted list for terrorism. He was also just appointed as the Minister of Interior in Afghanistan. The Biden Administration and the world community must not recognize a Taliban government. https://t.co/Mh2towEj7w
— Congressman Ben Cline (@RepBenCline) September 8, 2021
The Daily Caller notes that Haqqani published an op-ed in the New York Times in 2020 in which he claimed that his group was “committed to working with other parties in a consultative manner of genuine respect to agree on a new, inclusive political system.”
Congrats to the @nytimes! https://t.co/I73xs0azAp
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 7, 2021
Hundreds of Americans are still stranded in Afghanistan, but at least we got Bergdahl back.
Related:
Peter Doocy asking Jen Psaki if Biden considers these stats about new Afghan gov’t a ‘foreign policy success’ is just OUCH https://t.co/jM3W5jFPCJ
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 8, 2021
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