Taliban Five part of peace talks with US as rift grows between US, Afghan governments

The five Taliban leaders who President Barack Obama freed from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for U.S. Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl are now part of the Taliban’s peace talks in Qatar with the U.S. government.

The former detainees, dubbed “the Taliban Five,” had been high-ranking members of the Taliban government prior to its overthrow by U.S. forces in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The five men were released by the Obama administration and arrived in Qatar on June 1, 2014. Bergdahl was released on May 31, 2014, as part of the prisoner exchange.