This Former Guantanamo Inmate Now Leads The Fight Against The Taliban And The Islamic State

Hajji Ghalib, the governor of Achin District in the province of Nangarhar in eastern Afghanistan, was once imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Photo Credit Andrew Quilty for The New York Times

New York Times: Once in Guantánamo, Afghan Now Leads War Against Taliban and ISIS

KABUL, Afghanistan — Hajji Ghalib did just what the American military feared he would after his release from the Guantánamo Bay prison camp: He returned to the Afghan battlefield.

But rather than worrying about Mr. Ghalib, the Americans might have considered encouraging him. Lean and weather-beaten, he is now leading the fight against the Taliban and the Islamic State across a stretch of eastern Afghanistan.

His effectiveness has led to appointments as the Afghan government’s senior representative in some of the country’s most war-ravaged districts. Afghan and American officials alike describe him as a fiercely effective fighter against the insurgency, and the American military sometimes supports his men with airstrikes — although Mr. Ghalib complains that there are too few bombers and drones for his taste.

WNU Editor: This is a fascinating story. After being released from Guantanamo prison he just wanted to be left alone .... a common sentiment among people who have experienced warfare for much of their life. But the murder of his family by the Taliban changed that .... and now he is getting his revenge.