Discussions Begin On The Fate Of The Taliban Leaders Who Were Released For Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

Washington Post: U.S., Qatar launch talks on fate of Taliban officials released in Bergdahl swap

U.S. and Qatari officials began talks Thursday about extending security assurances for five senior Taliban members who were released from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and whose transfer to Qatar triggered an outcry on Capitol Hill.

The talks could lead to an extension of at least some aspects of a one-year arrangement that required Qatar to keep the former prisoners under supervision and ban them from leaving. They could also lead to the former detainees being transferred to another country, according to individuals familiar with the discussions. The agreement expires at the end of May.

In the talks, being held in Doha, the Qatari capital, administration officials presented a number of options for the future status of the aging Taliban leaders, who live with their families on a special compound as guests of the tiny Persian Gulf nation.

WNU Editor: I am sure that the Qataris want these men and their families gone .... and I am also sure that these Taliban officials want to go back to the battlefield. My prediction .... they are going to be stuck in Qatar for a little longer ... but after that .... it's off to the Afghan - Pakistan border region.