Thread: Taliban Commander: Americans Now High Value Targets for Kidnappings After Bergdahl

Taliban Commander: Americans Now High Value Targets for Kidnappings After Bergdahl Deal



by Jordan Schachtel 5 Jun 2014, 9:40 AM PDT 671 post a comment

Taliban Releases Video of Bergdahl...

Taliban Releases Video of Bergdahl Handover




A senior Taliban commander familiar with the negotiations to exchange Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for the ‘Taliban 5’ said Thursday that Americans are now a high value target for kidnapping, especially now that such a tremendous incentive has been established.

The commander told TIME Thursday, “It’s better to kidnap one person like Bergdahl than kidnapping hundreds of useless people. It has encouraged our people. Now everybody will work hard to capture such an important bird.”
TIME reiterated that the newly energized Taliban commander who spoke on the condition of anonymity is a very reliable source and he has been in contact with TIME for many years.
On May 31, the Obama administration secured a deal that brought Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl out of Taliban captivity for the ‘Taliban 5,’ known as some of the most senior commanders for the militant Islamist group and collectively responsible for murdering thousands of innocents.
Many of Bergdahl’s comrades in theater said after he left his forward operating base under mysterious conditions in 2009 that he was either a deserter or a traitor with sympathies to the Taliban.
Because of Bergdahl’s possible desertion, six US military personnel died on missions related to finding him: 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews, Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen, Staff Sgt. Michael Murphrey, Staff Sgt. Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, and PFC Matthew Michael Martinek.
Even after troubling evidence of Bergdahl’s actions in theater had been abundantly clear, US National Security Advisor Susan Rice said on the Sunday television circuit that Sgt. Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction.”

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2...-Bergdahl-Deal

Taliban to Kidnap More Trade Bait

Posted by Rodney Lee Conover on Jun 5, 2014 in Breaking Stories

Now that Obama’s lousy negotiation skills are widely known, there’s nothing to keep the Taliban, and other terrorist organizations from targeting more Americans and cashing in.

Americans for sale. Buy low, sell high. –Taliban Commander


from the Times:

Asked whether the Taliban would be inspired by the exchange to kidnap others, a commander laughed. “Definitely.”

The commander, who is close to the senior Taliban leadership based in Kandahar, Afghanistan and Quetta, Pakistan, and is close to the negotiations, describes scenes of intense jubilation among the Taliban leadership and their supporters. Candies and sweet pastries are being passed around, he says, speaking to TIME via telephone from the Kandahar area.

Those close to the leadership and the detainees are feasting on “whole goats cooked in rice”—a special meal usually reserved for celebrations. “I cannot explain how our people are happy and excited over this unbelievable achievement.” (He too has been known to TIME for several years). “This is a historic moment for us. Today our enemy for the first time officially recognized our status.”

The news of the detainees’ release, says the commander from Kandahar, spread like a wildfire. “Besides our field commanders and fighters, our leader Mullah Mohammad Omar is so happy and is anxiously waiting to see his heroes,” he says.

There was some disgruntlement among Taliban ranks over the terms, admits the Kandahar commander. Some members wanted a ransom payment for Bergdahl, in addition to the release of the Guantanamo detainees. But the leadership prevailed. “We told them that these five men are more important than millions of dollars to us,” he says. He was more tolerant of complaints from Taliban foot soldiers that pointed out that for all the celebrations surrounding the officials’ release, there was no reward or recognition for the Taliban fighters who captured Bergdahl in 2009. But that’s not likely to get in the way of future attempts to kidnap American soldiers, across all ranks.

Asked whether the Taliban would be inspired by the exchange to kidnap others, he laughed. “Definitely,” he says. “It’s better to kidnap one person like Bergdahl than kidnapping hundreds of useless people. It has encouraged our people. Now everybody will work hard to capture such an important bird.”

In the meantime . . . according to CBS:

President Obama on Thursday said he makes no apologies for negotiating with the Taliban to secure the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, in spite of the political firestorm that has erupted.

Members of Congress in Washington have questioned the motives for and the wisdom of securing Bergdahl’s release in exchange for releasing five high-level Taliban detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay. They’ve complained that Bergdahl, who was a prisoner of war for five years, was only held captive after walking away from his post in 2009.

http://joeforamerica.com/2014/06/tal...ap-trade-bait/