Free pass

[Gob]

Five senior Taliban fighters held at Guantanamo Bay have agreed to be moved to custody in Qatar as part of a peace plan, Afghan government officials say.

The US administration has not approved the transfer but is considering it as an incentive for the militants to enter negotiations in Afghanistan.

None of the five inmates is accused of directly killing Americans.

They would be re-united with their families in Qatar, which is playing an increasing role in negotiations.

They reportedly agreed to the transfer when they met Afghan government officials who visited the US prison this week on a mission from President Hamid Karzai.

Correspondents point out that the visit to the US prison on Cuba would not have been possible without US approval.

Aside from the aim of ending the war in Afghanistan, the prospect of transferring Taliban detainees proves once again that, more than three years after he promised to close it, Guantanamo Bay remains a thorn in President Obama's side, the BBC's Jonathan Blake reports from Washington.

If the president pursues this strategy, though, he will need support from wary politicians in Congress, our correspondent says.

Many there see a transfer of what they call the most dangerous inmates at Guantanamo as a step too far, he adds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17327440

[dgs49]

Can't close it now... got a new football field!

[MajGenl.Meade]

So have they:




Surely no-one begrudges the 2022 Taliban United the opportunity to get acclimated?

Meade