Biden Administration Negotiates With Taliban to Swap Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann, Mahmoud Habibi for Guantanamo's Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani

Jan 7, 2025, 12:25 PM

The Biden administration is engaged in negotiations with the Taliban to secure the release of three American citizens, Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann, and Mahmoud Habibi, detained in Afghanistan in 2022, in exchange for Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, an Afghan man alleged to be a high-level operative of al Qaeda, who has been detained at Guantanamo since 2008. The talks, ongoing since July 2024, were discussed in a classified briefing by White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This development follows the Biden administration's recent transfer of 11 Guantanamo detainees to Oman, part of an effort to reduce the prison population as the president prepares to leave office on January 20, 2025.