US defends release of ‘most dangerous’ Taliban prisoners in peace talks push
by Joel Gehrke, Foreign Affairs Reporter |
| September 11, 2020 05:37 PM
A clutch of the “most dangerous†Taliban prisoners has been transferred from prison in Afghanistan over the objections of key American allies in an effort to jumpstart peace talks this weekend.
“None of us are happy about the release of prisoners that committed violence or against our forces, but we want to keep the big picture in mind, unhappy as we are,†said Zalmay Khalilzad, a State Department special representative, on the eve of a landmark meeting in the peace process.
Khalilzad, who brokered the United States-Taliban peace deal earlier this year, defended the release of six men as part of a broader prisoner swap that functioned as a “confidence-building measure†between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed central government.
The removal of three men variously responsible for the murder of French and Australian citizens, however, drew objections from Paris and Canberra and outraged the families of the fallen.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/us-defends-release-of-most-dangerous-taliban-prisoners-in-peace-talks-push
