Remember Bowe Bergdahl?
For those who don't, Beaudry Robert "Bowe" Bergdahl was an American soldier who was held captive from 2009 to 2014 by the Taliban after he deserted his post and supposedly tried to join sides with our enemy in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009.
One of our listeners almost died trying to rescue him.
A few years later President Barack Obama held a prisoner-swap with the Taliban to bring Bowe home. Bowe was traded for five high ranking members of the Taliban who were being held at the US military base in Guantanamo Bay.
As it turns out, one of the Taliban leaders from the prisoner exchange is now the head of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
No, really.
Special envoy Khalilzad convinced the White House the US-backed government would not collapse and the Taliban would not take over — even though Khairkhwa made it clear he and his fellow mullahs sought to reestablish strict Islamic rule without outside meddling.
Mullah Khairkhwa previously served as the Taliban’s minister of interior in Afghanistan, where he oversaw enforcement of brutal Islamist punishments, including beheadings and stonings. After 9/11, he was arrested in Pakistan and sent to Gitmo in 2002. The Pentagon accused him of closely associating with Osama bin Laden and bin Laden’s al Qaeda henchmen.
Twelve years later, Obama sprung Khairkhwa from jail along with four other top Taliban leaders in exchange for the Taliban releasing US Army Sgt. Robert “Bowe” Bergdahl, who was captured after deserting his post in Afghanistan. Khairkhwa and his fellow parolees, who were immediately flown to Qatar, were the only “forever prisoners” released without being cleared by the Gitmo parole board.
The mastermind of the regime change is former detainee Khairkhwa, the Taliban mullah whom Obama released from Gitmo even though the Pentagon classified him as too dangerous to release.
Earlier this year, Khairkhwa assured the administration that the Taliban would not launch a spring military offensive if Biden committed to removing all remaining American troops. He also promised not to retaliate against any Afghans who worked with the US military or the US-backed government in Kabul. But Khairkhwa showed no signs of remorse or rehabilitation inside Gitmo — if anything, he’s probably more embittered to the United States. Why would they believe him?
Reports coming out of Kandahar and Kabul indicate the extremists have already broken their word. Taliban thugs have started a reign of terror against people who cooperated with Westerners. Guided by a “kill list,” they are going door-to-door to punish their enemies.