Taliban relatives and fighters celebrate release of POW's, like civilized people do.

[Uncle Joe]

10. Welcome to D.U. that's a nice cake.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025048897


The trade for Bergdahl should improve the chances of negotiating a peace treaty in Afghanistan.

The five Taliban members traded were a key sticking point in earlier peace negotiations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Fazl

Release negotiations

Most Afghans had been repatriated to Afghanistan by 2009. Throughout the fall of 2011 and the winter of 2012 the United States conducted peace negotiations with the Taliban, and widely leaked was that a key sticking point was the ongoing detention of Fazl and four other senior Taliban, Norullah Noori, Khirullah Khairkhwa, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammed Nabi. Negotiations hinged around sending the five men directly to Doha, Qatar, where they would be allowed to set up an official office for the Taliban.

In March 2012, it was reported that Ibrahim Spinzada, described as "Karzai's top aide" had spoken with the five men, in Guantanamo, earlier that month, and had secured their agreement to be transferred to Qatar. It was reported that Karzai, who had initially opposed the transfer, now backed the plan.

Release

On June 1, 2014 Fazl, and the other five Taliban prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, were released in Qatar in exchange for U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl who had been captured by the Taliban nearly five years previously. Fazl and other members of the Taliban five, as part of the conditions of their release, were prohibited from leaving Qatar for one year.