UPDATE: An earlier version of this article stated that the Taliban prisoner had been held at Guantanamo Bay, which is what the Associated Press originally reported. They later updated their article with the following note: “This story has corrected a version earlier in the day that cited Taliban claims that Noorzai was held at Guantanamo Bay; the claim was disproved by U.S. officials.” The amended, original article follows.

Here’s some news that just dropped on us from out of the blue. The last Taliban prisoner being held by the United States was released in Kabul, Afghanistan this morning. A Taliban illegal drug merchant named Bashir Noorzai was set free in his homeland in exchange for U.S. Navy veteran and military contractor Mark Frerichs. Noorzai claims that he was the last Taliban captive being held at the prison. Freichs was kidnapped by the Taliban in January of 2020 and his family has been pleading for his release ever since. While it’s good to have Mr. Freichs back, this sort of hostage diplomacy has traditionally not been our style. But as far as the Taliban is concerned, this exchange marks a “new era in U.S.-Taliban relations.” Isn’t it funny how nobody else seemed to be in the loop or know that these negotiations were even in the works? (Associated Press)

A senior Taliban detainee held for years at Guantanamo Bay said Monday he was released and handed over earlier in the day to the Taliban in Kabul, in exchange for an American prisoner held in Afghanistan.

Bashir Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul that he spent 17 years and six months in the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and that he was the last Taliban prisoner there.

The Taliban-appointed foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, also spoke at the press conference alongside Noorzai and welcomed the exchange, saying it marked the start of a “new era” in U.S.-Taliban relations.

Not only was the public not told that this trade was under discussion in advance, but after the word came out in the press there was no official confirmation or statement from the White House. Of course, we should probably have grown used to this type of secrecy from the Biden administration by now.

We’re left to wonder what other types of deals have been made with the Taliban. This is much the same as our lengthy, multi-party negotiations with Iran. We have no clue how those are going (aside from what the Iranians tell the world when they shoot down our offers) because “the most transparent administration ever” doesn’t speak to the press about them. But now we know that the same thing has been taking place with the Taliban.

The Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, was positively glowing in his statements to the media. He talked about a fresh start for a better relationship between the Taliban and the United States. Really? Who signed off on that? Was there any congressional oversight of these negotiations?

Our understanding from the beginning was that relations with the Taliban would only be normalized over a period of time if they carried through with their promises to rule Afghanistan in a more humane fashion than the last time they were in charge. They made all of those promises as soon as they took over Kabul, but they have failed to live up to any of them. Women’s rights are still being trampled and their perceived enemies continue to mysteriously disappear.

We deserve to know what sort of deals the Biden administration has been cutting with the Taliban, but most of the mainstream media is too timid to hold this administration’s feet to the fire. Would anyone honestly be surprised if there were pallets loaded with American cash involved? It’s becoming increasingly obvious that the price we paid over a period of more than twenty years to collect the scalp of one terrorist and dump his body into the ocean was unconscionably high. And today’s news demonstrates that we’re not done paying yet.