Taliban releases US detainee George Glezmann in Trump administration deal

The US Department of State reports that a US citizen who was kidnapped by the Taliban has been freed after two years.

The Taliban have released a US detainee for the third time since January, with the release of George Glezmann, who was abducted while on a vacation in Afghanistan in December 2022.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Glezmann’s release a “positive and constructive step” in a statement.

He also thanked Qatar for playing an “instrumental” role in obtaining the release.

After two and a half years in Afghanistan, George Glezmann, a mechanic for Delta Airlines, is reportedly on his way to reuniting with his wife, Aleksandra, according to Rubio.

Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, both of whom were detained on the night of President Trump’s inauguration, were later joined by George in being flown home.

However, a deal reached while US President Joe Biden’s administration, which was also mediated by Qatar, allowed Corbett and McKenty to leave.

The Taliban has previously referred to the US detainees’ release as a part of its global “normalization” effort.

Since its lightning-strike in Afghanistan in August 2021, the group has remained a global pariah. However, several nations have still established diplomatic missions there.

The Biden administration oversaw a withdrawal that the first US president’s administration had planned.

In order to end the Afghan War, the Republican leader reached an agreement with the Taliban in 2020 regarding the withdrawal of US and allies.

The absence of the Western-backed Afghan government, which was toppled in 2021 as a result of the agreement’s chaotic exit from the nation, was contentious.

Glezmann’s release from Taliban custody did not involve an exchange of prisoners held by the US, according to an official briefed on the matter, according to an official briefed on the matter.

The official described the gesture as a show of goodwill.

More US citizens are being detained.

During the president’s second term, the Trump administration hasn’t set out a clear course of action.

Trump has criticized the Biden administration’s oversight of the withdrawal from Afghanistan in recent months.

At least 170 Afghan civilians and 13 US soldiers were killed in a bombing that occurred at Kabul’s airport in the final days of the withdrawal.

As he campaigned for a second term in 2024, Trump repeatedly referred to the “Abbey Gate” bombing, calling it “the most embarrassing day in our country’s history.”

Although he has curtailed Afghan aid and foreign funding, the Republican leader has frequently maintained that a more orderly withdrawal would have occurred under his administration.

The Biden administration, on the other hand, largely held the first Trump administration accountable for leaving it unprepared for the withdrawal deadline.

Additionally, critics warn that the Taliban could retaliate against the hundreds of thousands of Afghan citizens who worked for US forces and on US-backed projects.

Others reside in refugee camps in precarious conditions, including in Pakistan’s neighbor.

After Trump suspended the refugee program in January, an estimated 10,000 Afghans who had been approved for entry to the US found themselves stranded.

The Trump administration should reverse its course and ensure the safety of the refugees, according to advocacy groups.

According to Shawn VanDiver, the founder of #AfghanEvac, a group that supports Afghan resettlement, “President Trump campaigned on a lot of things, particularly how bad the withdrawal was.”

“So I simply don’t think he would do that and then refuse to try to assist our allies.” Just a thought, I suppose.

Rubio acknowledged that the Taliban are still detaining American citizens in a statement released on Thursday. According to US officials, Mahmood Habibi, an American businessman from Afghanistan, is one of them. Habibi has not been held by the Taliban.

Source: Aljazeera