Taliban floats prisoner exchange with US

“First has to be the release of detainees,” Taliban
spokesman Shaheen Suhail told the AP when asked about Bergdahl. “Yes. It would
be an exchange. Then step by step, we want to build bridges of confidence to go
forward.”

{mosads}Speaking from the Taliban’s new office in Doha, Qatar,
Suhail said that Bergdahl “is, as far as I know, in good condition.”

There were previously secret discussions between the U.S.
and Taliban over exchanging Bergdahl for the Taliban detainees at Guantánamo,
with plans to send the detainees to Qatar.

A prisoner exchange would have plenty of critics in
Congress, as Republicans have warned against releasing any Taliban prisoners
since the talks were announced Tuesday.

The potential peace talks between the Taliban, U.S. and
Afghan government got off to a rocky start, as Afghan President Hamid Karzai
pulled out on Wednesday after the Taliban flew a flag at the Doha office that
said “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” the name of the former Taliban government in Afghanistan.

An Afghan government spokesman said that Karzai was
willing to re-join the talks so long as the Taliban’s flag and nameplate were
removed from the Doha office and the U.S. issued a former letter supporting the
Afghan government, the AP reported.