US in negotiations with Taliban to swap Americans in Afghanistan for prisoner in Guantanamo

The Biden administration reportedly has been negotiating with the Taliban to swap three Americans being held in Afghanistan for a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who is alleged to have been a close associate of Osama bin Laden. 

The talks, which have been ongoing since at least July of last year, involve exchanging suspected senior Al Qaeda aide Muhammad Rahim al Afghani for American citizens George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett and Mahmoud Habibi, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2022, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

After the White House proposed that swap in November, the Taliban counteroffered, asking for Rahim and two others in exchange for Glezmann and Corbett, the newspaper reported.  

House Foreign Affairs Committee members told the newspaper that they later were informed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan during a Dec. 17, 2024, classified session that Biden was still mulling the offer. One attendee added that during the meeting, panel chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, expressed concern that the Taliban’s counteroffer wasn’t a good deal for the U.S. 

‘The safety and security of Americans overseas is one of the Biden-Harris Administration’s top priorities, and we are working around the clock to ensure George, Ryan and Mahmoud’s safe return,’ Sean Savett, a National Security Council spokesman, recently told The Wall Street Journal. 

Glezmann and Corbett have been declared by the State Department as wrongfully detained, while the Taliban denies holding Habibi, the newspaper says. 

Corbett, a consultant, reportedly was seized in the summer of 2022 while traveling with a German colleague about 300 miles northwest of Kabul. Glezmann, a Delta Air Lines mechanic, then was detained by the Taliban in December during a tour of the country, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Habibi vanished the same year following the U.S. killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, it added. 

‘My family is confident that Mahmoud is alive and remains in the joint custody of the Taliban and the Haqqani network,’ Ahmad Habibi, a brother of Mahmoud Habibi, told The Wall Street Journal. ‘We have a lot of evidence. If the Taliban wants Rahim, releasing my brother is their best shot at getting him.’ 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.