How Many Taliban Prisoners Did Trump Release? Even though the Trump administration demanded prisoner swaps in a deal with the Taliban, the former president blamed the “inexpert Afghan government” for the release of 5,000 Taliban inmates last year.
In a statement released on Monday, Trump blasted the previous Afghan administration and former leader Ashraf Ghani for the prisoner releases. At about the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinked told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that some of the 5,000 prisoners released in 2017 “almost certainly” included known terrorists.
In reality, the Trump administration and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in February 2020 in Doha that includes a promise to release up to 5,000 Taliban inmates and 1,000 prisoners from the side of the Afghan government that receives U.S. support.
At the time, Ghani, whose government wasn’t a party to the U.S.-Taliban deal, told reporters he’d made “no commitment” to release Taliban prisoners, opposing that prisoner swaps should be a component of a larger peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government rather than a requirement.
Despite this doubt, Ghani’s administration freed thousands of Taliban insurgents, and officials decided to free one last group of prisoners in August 2020.
How Many Taliban Prisoners Did Trump Release? Prisoner swaps were controversial, but then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed they would pave the way for peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government last summer, warning that “the decisions and conduct of both parties to intra-Afghan negotiations will affect the size and scope of future U.S. engagements”.
Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as the United States special envoy for peace in Afghanistan during the Biden and Trump administrations, told the BBC in September that while he is “not thrilled” with the releases, “sometimes you have to make hard decisions”.
Themacforums contacted Trump’s office for comment, but they didn’t get back to them.
Yes, the 2020 Trump Administration Reached a Deal to Free 5,000 Taliban Prisoners
How Many Taliban Prisoners Did Trump Release? For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Taliban took over the Afghan government on August 15. The Taliban’s ascent to power came more quickly than anticipated, according to Vice President Joe Biden. For Americans and U.S. friends trying to flee Afghanistan, the takeover in Kabul has created a hazardous situation.
Since the Taliban’s takeover, it has been asserted that the U.S. granted the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners when Donald Trump was president.
Romney is Correct When He Claims that the Trump Administration Pushed to Release 5,000 Taliban Captives
How Many Taliban Prisoners Did Trump Release? The tumultuous events that swept Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the nation were attributed by Sen. Mitt Romney to both the Trump and Biden administrations.
More than 100 people were killed in a terrorist attack at Kabul’s international airport, including 13 American service personnel. As the U.S. military sought to empty both Americans and Afghans.
In an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper on August 29, Romney, a Republican from Utah, made his remarks.
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Romney said, “Recognize that we’re in this position right now because of terrible decisions made by two administrations: One, the Trump administration directly negotiating with the Taliban, getting ready to invite them to Camp David, opening up a prison of 5,000 Taliban and probably ISIS-K individuals and letting them free.”
The involvement of some of the detainees who were released in the airport attack may not have been known, according to Romney, who claimed that the actions of the Trump administration “lead to what you’re seeing and the threat that exists at the airport.” He said that the Bagram Air Base’s closure under the Biden administration also had an impact.
By August 31, all American military personnel had left Afghanistan, effectively bringing an end to the war. Themacforums questioned Romney’s assertion that 5,000 Taliban captives had been unregulated.
Romney’s assertion is true. Five thousand Taliban fighters who were being held in Afghan prisons were to be freed, according to a February 2020 agreement between the Taliban and the Trump administration. According to the Afghan administration, 5,000 Taliban prisoners were freed. According to a study by the Congressional Research Service, the release was finished in September 2020.
We contacted Romney’s press office, but they did not answer.
The Taliban and the Trump Administration Will Reach a 2020 Accord
How Many Taliban Prisoners Did Trump Release? The United States and its allies were required to withdraw their armed personnel from Afghanistan within 14 months of the agreement’s announcement, according to a Feb. 29, 2020, agreement between the United States and the Taliban.
According to the agreement, the Taliban would not permit organizations in Afghanistan, including al-Qaida, to endanger the security of the US and its allies. Additionally, it demanded that talks begin on March 10, 2020, between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
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