It seems I remember reading this somewhere before.
But I’m sure those who are attempting to force the closure of GITMO (as well as reading terrorists their Miranda Rights) will claim this is a falsehood…
As Marine Corps forces roll into southern Afghanistan, they face an enemy familiar to US officials — Mullah Zakir, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who now leads a reconstituted Taliban.
In 2001, he surrendered to US and Afghan forces in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif as the regime was collapsing. He spent the next several years in custody, was transferred to Guantanamo around 2006, then to Afghanistan government custody in late 2007, and was eventually released around May 2008. American officials won’t say why he was let go and have not released a photograph of him.
Zakir wasted little time rekindling his relationship with the Taliban, especially its inner shura, or leadership council, based in Pakistan. According to some accounts, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar appointed Zakir as a senior military commander in mid-2008. He quickly developed a reputation as a charismatic leader.
I guess those who would like a kindler, gentler military will appreciate our apparent catch and release program.
(H/T Jawa)
I don’t think this has anything to do with policies about Gitmo, since the person in question spent hardly any time there. He spent the vast majority of his incarceration in Afghanistan itself. And he wasn’t released as part of the closing of Guantanamo, he was released to Afghan custody long before that process started.
So, come on, read between the lines. He was used as an intelligence asset by the US and the Afghans, apparently a pretty good one. Part of his reward was to be let go. He’s probably working as a double agent even now.
Interesting story, but not one that sheds any light at all on the consequences of closing Guantanamo.