A Look At How The U.S. Intelligence Community And Military Were Convinced To Support The Taliban Prisoner Release

Department of Defense

How Obama Convinced His Spies To Support The Taliban Prisoner Release -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

The Pentagon and the nation’s top intelligence official opposed releasing the Gitmo Five in 2012. This time around the White House got the answer it wanted when the Taliban was ready to deal.

Leaders of the U.S. intelligence community and military were opposed to freeing five senior Taliban commanders in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl when the White House first began exploring the prisoner swap in 2011 and 2012.

The U.S. military wanted to bring Bergdahl home, but releasing Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Khairullah Khairkhwa, and Mohammed Nabi Omari was seen as too dangerous at the time.

James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, according to three U.S. intelligence officials flat out rejected the release of the five detainees, saying there was too high a risk these Taliban commanders would return to the battlefield and orchestrate attacks against Americans.

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My Comment: The White House convinced the intelligence community and the Pentagon to support the Taliban prisoner release by telling me that this was what the President wanted .... and they had essentially no choice on the matter.Who needs convincing when this is how it is laid out ... accept it or get a new job.