Say Hello To the Five Identified Taliban Prisoners Released by Barack Obama from GITMO in Exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl … Meet the GITMO 5

The Taliban FIVE released from GITMO have been identified.

Yesterday, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only living POW held by the Taliban in Afghanistan was freed in exchange for five Afghan detainees from GITMO. Barack Obama was quick to take the praise yesterday and use phrases that began with an “I”.     The president stated Bowe’s recovery is a reminder of America’s unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield, which may have the have an asterisk after it. Who is to say that terrorists do not try an do the same? As reported at TWS, now it is time to meet the GITMO 5, five of the most dangerous Taliban commanders in U.S. custody.

1. Mullah Mohammad Fazl (Taliban army chief of staff)
2. Mullah Norullah Noori (senior Taliban military commander)
3. Abdul Haq Wasiq (Taliban deputy minister of intelligence):
4. Khairullah Khairkhwa (Taliban governor of the Herat province and former interior minister)
5. Mohammed Nabi (senior Taliban figure and security official)

More from The Weekly Standard: Five of the Most Dangerous Taliban Commanders in U.S. Custody Exchanged for American Captive.

The Taliban has long demanded that the “Gitmo 5” be released in order for peace talks to begin in earnest. The Obama administration has desperately sought to engage the Taliban as American forces are drawn down in Afghanistan, but those talks have gone nowhere to this point.  At first, the administration set preconditions for the talks, including that the Taliban break its relationship with al Qaeda. When it became clear that this was a non-starter, the administration decided to make the Taliban’s desired break with al Qaeda a goal, and no longer a precondition, for its diplomacy.

There is little hope that the peace talks will be more successful now. But the president seems to believe that Bergdahl’s exchange for the Gitmo 5 (who are reportedly being transferred to Qatar) may break the ice. “While we are mindful of the challenges, it is our hope Sergeant Bergdahl’s recovery could potentially open the door for broader discussions among Afghans about the future of their country by building confidence that it is possible for all sides to find common ground,” Obama said in his statement.

The Obama administration says that security measures have been put into place to make sure that the Gitmo 5 do not pose a threat to American national security. Let’s hope that is true; it certainly has not been the case with many ex-Gitmo detainees in the past.

Taliban Detainees Turned Over by U.S. in Bergdahl Deal:

MOHAMMED FAZL: A February 2008 Pentagon document said Fazlserved as Taliban deputy minister of defense and as a seniorcommander who was chief of staff of the Taliban army. The U.S.military said he was wanted by the United Nations for possiblewar crimes including the murder of thousands of Afghanistan’sminority Shi’ite Muslims between 1998 and 2001. It said he wasborn in 1967 in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province. According toU.S. military documents, Fazl was also on the scene of aNovember 2001 prison riot that killed CIA operative JohnnyMicheal Spann, the first American who died in combat in theAfghan war. There is no evidence, however, that Fazl played anydirect role in Spann’s death.

MULLAH NORULLAH NOORI: A February 2008 Pentagon document said Noori was a senior Taliban military commander in the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif during fighting in late 2001 after the U.S. invasion. It said he also was the Taliban governor for two provinces and was wanted by the United Nations for possible war crimes including the murder of thousands of Shi’ite Muslims. It said he was born in 1967 in Afghanistan’s Zabul province.

KHAIRULLAH KHAIRKHWA: A March 2008 Pentagon document said Khairkhwa was a senior Taliban official serving as the minister of interior, governor of Herat and a military commander. It said that after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, he represented the Taliban during meetings with Iranian officials seeking to support hostilities against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It said he was born in 1967 in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.

ABDUL HAQ WASIQ: A January 2008 Pentagon document said Wasiq served as the Taliban deputy minister of intelligence. “He was central to the Taliban’s efforts to form alliances with other Islamic fundamentalist groups to fight alongside the Taliban against U.S. and Coalition forces after the 11 September2001 attacks,” the document said. It said he was born in 1971 in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province.

MOHAMMED NABI: A January 2008 Pentagon document said Nabi was a senior Taliban official who “served in multiple leadership roles.” It said he “maintained weapons caches and facilitated the smuggling of fighters and weapons.” It said he was born in1968 in Afghanistan’s Khost province.

UPDATE I: What the hell was this TWEET from father of released Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Below is the tweet from Bob Bergdahl’s account, which was published May 28 and was deleted Saturday night.  Imagine that? He us still working to free all GITMO prisoners, what is up with this? God will repay the death of every Afghan child? Why didn’t the father of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl just end his tweet with allahu akbar?