Report: Afghan Delegation Visits Gitmo on Possible Detainee Transfers

Prisoners Would Be Sent to Qatar in 'Confidence Building' Measure for Peace Talks

Reuters is reporting today that members of the Karzai government have visited Guantanamo Bay this week, the first step toward a potential transfer for five long-standing Taliban detainees to Qatar.

The visit is because the Karzai government has demanded that any prisoner transfer be approved by the prisoners themselves, though the prospect of getting out of the US military brig and into a Qatari prison with at least some conceivable court oversight probably makes this a foregone conclusion.

The transfers are meant as a “confidence building” measure to set the stage for peace talks with the Taliban, which has set up official offices in Qatar. The Taliban has confirmed meeting with the US, but says talks are still at a very preliminary stage.

The transfers have been reported as virtually a done deal for several months, and the Karzai government’s intercession seems to be yet another effort to find themselves some sort of role in a negotiating process which they have been virtually cut out of.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.