Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – The Biden administration is reportedly negotiating a high-stakes prisoner exchange with the Afghan Taliban to secure the release of three Americans detained in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Tuesday. In return, the U.S. is considering releasing Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, a high-profile Guantanamo Bay prisoner linked to former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The three Americans — Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann, and Mahmood Habibi — were detained in separate incidents in 2022. Corbett and Habibi were seized in August 2022, a year after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal. Glezmann was detained later that year while visiting Afghanistan as a tourist.
Rahim al-Afghani, an alleged senior al Qaeda operative, has been held at Guantanamo since 2008 after being transferred from CIA custody. His potential release highlights the complex nature of these negotiations, which have reportedly been underway since July, following a classified briefing by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Neither the White House nor the U.S. State Department responded to requests for comment, and Afghan Taliban representatives also remained silent on the matter.
This report comes just a day after President Biden’s administration transferred 11 Guantanamo detainees to Oman, cutting the detention center’s population by nearly half. Biden has long sought to close the controversial facility, an effort intensifying as his presidency approaches its end on Jan. 20.
The potential swap underscores the ongoing challenges in U.S.-Taliban relations, raising questions about the future of detainee policies and national security as diplomatic efforts unfold.
