A secret U.S. program has released an undisclosed number of terrorists over the past several years from a military prison in Afghanistan, but not to worry. They were only released if they promised to give up violence.
What a relief.
Unfortunately though, this has been done before. Prisoners promised to stop their violence as a condition for release from Guantanamo Bay. It didn’t work.
But the Obama Administration decided to try again. In order to end the war by the predetermined deadline Obama imposed of all U.S. combat troops withdrawing by 2014, the releases were practically necessary. Imposing arbitrary deadlines means that sacrifices to U.S. national security and the safety of U.S. troops currently fighting are completely justifiable.
With a goal “to quell violence…particularly as troops continue to withdraw,” the program seeks to allow for the opening of diplomatic channels between us and the terrorists in order to make the war fit Obama’s artificial timetable.
One official remarked to the Washington Post (on the condition of anonymity) that:
Everyone agrees they are guilty of what they have done and should remain in detention. Everyone agrees that these are bad guys. But the benefits outweigh the risks.
Releasing guilty terrorists with the hope that the Taliban might like us more is granting the group legitimacy and caving in to their tactics. No “benefit” can be derived from attempting diplomacy and negotiations with terrorist organizations. The only result possible from this secret program is that the American military and people are more at risk.