The Biden administration is reportedly in negotiations with Afghanistan to swap three Americans detained in the country for a high-profile detainee held at Guantanamo Bay, a man with alleged ties to al Qaeda and the late Osama bin Laden. The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal under discussion would exchange the Americans—Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann, and Mahmood Habibi—for Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, an Afghan national described as a senior al Qaeda operative.
Corbett and Habibi were captured in August 2022, a year after the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Kabul, while Glezmann, a tourist, was detained later that year. Al-Afghani, who was transferred to Guantanamo from CIA custody in 2008, is seen as a key figure within al Qaeda. The exchange talks have reportedly been ongoing since July, with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan briefing lawmakers about them last month.
The negotiations come as the Biden administration seeks to reduce the detainee population at Guantanamo Bay. Just recently, 11 detainees were transferred to Oman, part of the administration’s broader efforts to close the detention center before President Biden’s term ends. While the White House and State Department have yet to comment on the negotiations, the potential swap signals a strategic move in the U.S.’s ongoing efforts to address detainee concerns while securing the release of its citizens abroad.
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