This prisoner swap didn't get much news coverage before the other stories of the day took over the news cycle.

Color me cynical, but I can't help noticing the timing of this prisoner exchange, with the Biden regime's poll numbers in the tank and right before the mid-term elections. Seems like, after abandoning Americans in Afghanistan, he has suddenly found a renewed interest in bringing some home.

[Note: photos of the prisoners and multiple hyperlinks found at linked website article.]

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Taliban releases Navy veteran held hostage in Afghanistan

By Eric Tucker, The Associated Press and Rahim Faiez, The Associated Press

Monday, Sep 19


This undated photo provided to The AP shows Mark Frerichs, a U.S. veteran and civilian contractor held more than 2 years in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Frerichs family says he has been freed by the Taliban. (Charlene Cakora via AP)

An American contractor held hostage in Afghanistan for more than two years has been released in exchange for a convicted Taliban drug lord jailed in the United States, the White House said Monday, announcing a rare success in U.S.-Taliban talks since the militant group took power a little more than a year ago

Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran who had spent more than a decade in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor, was abducted in January 2020 and is believed to have been held since then by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network. He was traded for Bashir Noorzai, a Taliban associate convicted of heroin trafficking in 2008 who had spent 17 years behind bars before his release Monday.


Bashir Noorzai speaks during his release ceremony at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and member of the Taliban, told reporters in Kabul on Monday that he spent 17 years and six months in a U.S. prison. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)


The exchange is one of the most significant prisoner swaps to take place under the Biden administration, coming five months after a separate deal with Russia that resulted in the release of Marine veteran Trevor Reed. Frerichs’ family and other advocates had feared that the U.S. military departure from Afghanistan, and the rise of the Taliban to power, would make it harder to bring him home and would deflect attention away from his imprisonment.

U.S. officials across two presidential administrations had tried unsuccessfully to bring Frerichs home. His case has received less public attention than those of other Americans held abroad, including WNBA star Brittney Griner and Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan, who are both held in Russia and whose relatives met with Biden on Friday.

Discussions gained new momentum in June when President Joe Biden granted Noorzai relief from his life sentence, setting the stage for what one administration official described as a “very narrow window of opportunity this month” to carry out the deal.

Biden said in a statement released by the White House, “Bringing the negotiations that led to Mark’s freedom to a successful resolution required difficult decisions, which I did not take lightly.”

A sister of Frerichs, who is from Lombard, Illinois, thanked U.S. government officials who helped secure her brother’s release.

“I am so happy to hear that my brother is safe and on his way home to us. Our family has prayed for this each day of the more than 31 months he has been a hostage. We never gave up hope that he would survive and come home safely to us,” said a statement from the sister, Charlene Cakora.

At the time of his 2005 arrest, Noorzai would hardly have seemed an ideal recipient for presidential clemency. He’d been designated on a list reserved for some of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers, and was prosecuted in federal court in New York on charges that accused him of owning opium fields in Kandahar province and relying on a network of distributors who sold the heroin.

When he was sentenced to life imprisonment, the then-top federal prosecutor in Manhattan said Noorzai’s “worldwide narcotics network supported a Taliban regime that made Afghanistan a breeding ground for international terrorism.”

The deal underscored the two sides to the Taliban’s approach to illegal drugs. In April, they announced a ban on harvesting the poppies that produce opium for making heroin — an order that also outlawed the manufacture and transportation of narcotics. However, during the years-long Taliban insurgency, they reportedly made millions of dollars taxing farmers and middle men who moved their drugs outside Afghanistan.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration said that the U.S. government had now determined that Noorzai’s release would “not materially change any risk to Americans or fundamentally alter the contours of the drug trade there.” Officials also took into account that Noorzai had spent 17 years in prison.

At a press conference Monday, Noorzai expressed thankfulness at seeing his “mujahedeen brothers” — a reference to the Taliban — in Kabul.

“I pray for more success of the Taliban,” he added. “I hope this exchange can lead to peace between Afghanistan and America, because an American was released and I am also free now.”

Frerichs, 60, had been working on civil engineering projects at the time of his Jan. 31, 2020, abduction in Kabul. He was last seen in a video posted last spring by The New Yorker in which he appeared in traditional Afghan clothing and pleaded for his release. He was accompanied Monday by the administration’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, but his ultimate destination was not immediately clear.

Even before their takeover of Afghanistan in August last year, the Taliban had demanded the U.S. release Noorzai in exchange for Frerichs. But there had been no public sign of Washington proceeding along those lines.

Eric Lebson, a former U.S. government national security official who had been advising Frerichs’ family, said in a statement that “everything about this case has been an uphill fight.” He criticized the Trump administration for having given away “our leverage to get Mark home quickly by signing a peace accord with the Taliban without ever having asked them to return Mark first.’’

“Mark’s family then had to navigate two administrations, where many people viewed Mark’s safe return as an impediment to their plans for Afghanistan,” the statement said.

The collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government and takeover by the Taliban in August 2021, raised additional concern that any progress in negotiations could be undone or that Frerichs could be forgotten. But his name surfaced last month when Biden, who had earlier called for Frerichs’ release, was said by his advisers to have pressed officials to consider any risk posed to Frerichs by the drone strike in Afghanistan that killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.

The Taliban-appointed foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, hailed the exchange Monday as the the start of a “new era” in U.S.-Taliban relations and the opening of a “new door for talks.”

U.S. officials were more circumspect. Though it does not recognize the Taliban government, the U.S. does have interests at stake in Afghanistan and will continue to engage with the Taliban in addressing the hunger and humanitarian crisis gripping the country, administration officials said Monday. But officials say they remain concerned about whether the Taliban are committed to fighting terrorism and by the exclusion of girls from schools there.

Lt. Col (ret.) Scott Mann is the US Army special forces Green Beret that created the rescue operation to evacuate Americans and Afghan partners from Afghanistan in the final days of the surrender... dubbed Operation Pineapple Express.

Originally created to rescue one Afghan Army Green Beret 10 year veteran of the war and his family who were being threatened by the Taliban, Operation Pineapple Express was quickly expanded to rescue others, and ultimately rescued @ 1000 others.

Scott Mann wrote a book, Operation Pineapple Express, and this is the publisher's description of it:

quote:

Operation Pineapple Express

The Incredible Story of a Group of Americans Who Undertook One Last Mission and Honored a Promise in Afghanistan
By Scott Mann

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

An edge-of-your-seat thriller about a group of retired Green Berets who come together to save a former comrade—and 500 other Afghans—being targeted by the Taliban in the chaos of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In April, an urgent call was placed from a Special Forces operator serving overseas. The message: Get Nezam out of Afghanistan now. Nezam was part of the Afghan National Army’s first group of American-trained commandos. He passed through Fort Bragg’s legendary Q course and served alongside the US Special Forces for over a decade. But Afghanistan’s government and army are collapsing, and Nezam is getting threatening texts from the Taliban. The message reached Nezam’s former commanding officer, retired Lt. Col. Scott Mann, who can’t face the idea of losing another soldier in the long War on Terror. He sends out an SOS to a group of Afghan vets (Navy SEALs, Green Berets, CIA officers, USAID advisors). They all answer the call for one last mission.

Operating out of basements and garages, Task Force Pineapple organizes an escape route for Nezam and gets him into hiding in Taliban-controlled Kabul. After many tense days, he braves the enemy checkpoints and the crowds of thousands blocking the airport gates. He finally makes it through the wire and into the American-held airport thanks to the frantic efforts of the Pineapple express, a relentless Congressional aide, and a US embassy official. Nezam is safe, but calls are coming in from all directions requesting help for other Afghan soldiers, interpreters, and at-risk women and children. Task Force Pineapple begins all over again—and ends up rescuing 500 more Afghans from Kabul in the three chaotic days before the ISIS-K suicide bombing. Operation Pineapple Express is a thrilling, suspenseful tale of service and loyalty amidst the chaos of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Lt. Col Scott Mann was recently interviewed about the book and his involvement with this operation. This radio interview describes just how harrowing and emotional this rescue operation was, and also gives some insights into just how difficult the Green Beret mission in Afghanistan was, requiring them to build an Afghan Army and human intelligence network out of scratch, mentions just how close US military personnel got to their Afghan Army brothers, mentions the Afghan Army's 90k KIA & 150k WIA during the war, and also hints at the number of mistakes made at the US senior policy maker level...and, IMO, this radio interview is well worth the time to listen to it and determine whether the book is worth reading.

Apparently there is a movie in the works based on the book Operation Pineapple Express.

@ 18 minute radio interview
Lt. Col. Scott Mann interview on The Pineapple Express

I’m probably in the minority with Afghan vets, but I’m disgusted by the cowardly behavior of the ANA and have zero patience for the many US mil personnel trying to get the Afghans out of Afghanistan and into USA.

Evacuating and rescuing our AFG partners seems to be all the rage, but I’m just not on board and never will be. We should not have evacuated a single person. Like Cortes burning his ships thereby forcing his personal to fight, they should have seen no option except to fight to the death against our enemy.

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:
I’m probably in the minority with Afghan vets, but I’m disgusted by the cowardly behavior of the ANA and have zero patience for the many US mil personnel trying to get the Afghans out of Afghanistan and into USA.

Evacuating and rescuing our AFG partners seems to be all the rage, but I’m just not on board and never will be. We should not have evacuated a single person. Like Cortes burning his ships thereby forcing his personal to fight, they should have seen no option except to fight to the death against our enemy.

I respect and appreciate your service, and you have every right to your opinion...but, did you bother to listen to the interview posted above?

According to Lt. Col. Mann, the Afghan Army sustained 90,000 KIA and 150,000 WIA during the war. The Afghan Green Beret they were initially trying to rescue, Nezam, was shot in the face while saving US Green Beret forces from a trap... and returned to fight alongside them a couple weeks later. He was later shot several more times while fighting the Taliban, and yet continued to fight.

Lt. Col. Mann talks about how the Afghan commandos continued to fight until the Biden regime cancelled requested ammo resupplies and they literally ran out of ammo...and he talks about how the US contractors that did maintenance on the Afghan aircraft were pulled, unannounced, leaving the Army and commandos with no air support to continue the ground fighting.

At one point in the interview he mentions how the CIA evacuated their paramilitary forces off buses, while leaving their Afghan Army counterparts, dumbfounded, sitting there with the engines still running.

Years of training, preaching how you continue to fight and never leave a fallen camrade behind, convincing them we have a common enemy and we're their friends.. and then, poof, US forces and aid just disappear overnight, without even advanced notice.

He fully acknowledges that there was graft and corruption involved in the Afghan government and military, and many of us will acknowledge that drug use, pedophilia, a lack of will to fight, and even cowardice occurred too frequently... but many Afghans hated the Taliban and wanted to kill them, and not only helped the US forces, but fought alongside them and took great risks for themselves and their families, in doing so.

... and yes, the Biden regime let a lot of bad ones into the US while leaving some of the good ones behind.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:
I’m probably in the minority with Afghan vets, but I’m disgusted by the cowardly behavior of the ANA and have zero patience for the many US mil personnel trying to get the Afghans out of Afghanistan and into USA.

Evacuating and rescuing our AFG partners seems to be all the rage, but I’m just not on board and never will be. We should not have evacuated a single person. Like Cortes burning his ships thereby forcing his personal to fight, they should have seen no option except to fight to the death against our enemy.

I respect and appreciate your service, and you have every right to your opinion...but, did you bother to listen to the interview posted above?

According to Lt. Col. Mann, the Afghan Army sustained 90,000 KIA and 150,000 WIA during the war. The Afghan Green Beret they were initially trying to rescue, Nezam, was shot in the face while saving US Green Beret forces from a trap... and returned to fight alongside them a couple weeks later. He was later shot several more times while fighting the Taliban, and yet continued to fight.

Lt. Col. Mann talks about how the Afghan commandos continued to fight until the Biden regime cancelled requested ammo resupplies and they literally ran out of ammo...and he talks about how the US contractors that did maintenance on the Afghan aircraft were pulled, unannounced, leaving the Army and commandos with no air support to continue the ground fighting.

At one point in the interview he mentions how the CIA evacuated their paramilitary forces off buses, while leaving their Afghan Army counterparts, dumbfounded, sitting there with the engines still running.

Years of training, preaching how you continue to fight and never leave a fallen camrade behind, convincing them we have a common enemy and we're their friends.. and then, poof, US forces and aid just disappear overnight, without even advanced notice.

He fully acknowledges that there was graft and corruption involved in the Afghan government and military, and many of us will acknowledge that drug use, pedophilia, a lack of will to fight, and even cowardice occurred too frequently... but many Afghans hated the Taliban and wanted to kill them, and not only helped the US forces, but fought alongside them and took great risks for themselves and their families, in doing so.

... and yes, the Biden regime let a lot of bad ones into the US while leaving some of the good ones behind.

I did not listen to that particular interview. I have heard him before and I am not interested. I view him and the other “rescue programs” as enablers.

I did 10 deployments to Afghanistan, mostly manhunting but also a year embedded with the Air Force attack group as an advisor pilot. I was there the night Kabul fell. There were more than enough organic Afghan forces to repel the Taliban invasion but they lost heart and gave up without a fight. It was pathetic. And we were there ready to fight and would have had their back; the week before the fall was extremely violent.

I understand there are some individual afghans who were heroic and tried their best. But we evacuated thousands of people who should have stayed and fought to the death. We also evacuated thousands of criminals, since the Taliban bussed hordes of inmates to flood HKIA the days after the fall. What would you do if Washington DC was being invaded? Would you leave your family to a merciless enemy and steal an airplane and fly away? Because that is what many of my former students did right in front of me while I took off to defend their city. Fuck them all.

As for the numbers of casualties suffered, I have a little sympathy. I spent a lot of time defending ANA FOBs, and they were mostly hated by the population throughout the country due to their ill treatment of civilians including theft murder and rape. I watched checkpoints get overrun and civilians would come out and give candies to the Taliban fighters who did it. The ANA betrayed each other as well, google the over run of Chinese camp for one particularly brutal example I was involved with. Bottom line the soldiers sold each other out, were betrayed, and mostly died. How do we know we aren’t evacuating the sell outs?

I get it, there were some decent people caught up in a terrible situation and trying their best. I am certainly ashamed of the way we were in ordered to leave, it was awful. But we did need to leave, we had been saying it for years, and the Afghan government and military were completely inept. In 2020 they should have collapsed all of the indefensible fobs and bolstered fortress Kabul, including the highway to JBad & the Pak border. Instead they spread thousands of fobs throughout the country and did not utilize the airdrop program to resupply them. What a bunch of idiots.

And the Taliban, to their credit, sustained a passion to win and withstood everything we threw at them. You have to respect that they wanted that country more than our allies, and in the grand scheme of things that means they deserve to have it.

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:

I did not listen to that particular interview. I have heard him before and I am not interested. I view him and the other “rescue programs” as enablers.

We'll agree to disagree then, but I appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences there. It really does help to hear from those who were actually there... especially from someone like yourself with that many deployments.

Just a thought, but maybe you should consider writing a book about your experiences there.

What were you flying over there?

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:

I did not listen to that particular interview. I have heard him before and I am not interested. I view him and the other “rescue programs” as enablers.

We'll agree to disagree then, but I appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences there. It really does help to hear from those who were actually there... especially from someone like yourself with that many deployments.

Just a thought, but maybe you should consider writing a book about your experiences there.

What were you flying over there?

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