The U.S. government tried to recruit members of the Taliban Five as assets, so they could gather intelligence and the U.S. could influence their future actions, Fox News has learned.
The effort to "flip" the five Taliban leaders into becoming informants, however, didn't work. A source familiar with the strategy described it as a "total failure."
Other sources, who discussed the option on the condition of anonymity, backed up the account.
The move was pursued to strengthen the Obama administration's ability to prevent the ex-Guantanamo prisoners -- traded more than a year ago for American Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl -- from returning to terrorism. The Taliban Five have been living in Qatar under a travel ban, which was set to expire earlier this week but was temporarily extended amid ongoing talks between the U.S. and Qatar.
Asked about the strategy of flipping Taliban Five members, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest offered little information at Friday's press briefing.
"Even as a general matter, this is an intelligence matter that I won't be able to discuss from here," Earnest said.
The Taliban Five were held for 12 years at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, where military reviews concluded they were a likely security threat and had "high intelligence value." For those reasons, among others, seasoned military officers believe the Taliban Five were obvious recruitment targets.
"We would definitely have tried to work that with these people because of who they are, and because of the relationships they have," Fox News military analyst and retired Gen. Jack Keane said. "These are people that had significant senior positions inside this organization." Via: Fox News
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