In the final hours of President Joe Biden's term, a long-awaited prisoner exchange was finalized. The Taliban agreed to release two Americans held in Afghanistan in exchange for a Taliban member serving a life sentence in a US prison.
However, the exchange faced an unexpected delay due to inclement weather in Washington and Kabul. By the time Americans Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were handed over and on their way home, Donald Trump had returned to the White House. They were exchanged for Afghan Taliban member Khan Mohammed, who was convicted in 2008 on narco-terrorism charges.
Mohammed was flown to Doha by US officials, with Qatar facilitating the trade by hosting negotiations with the Taliban and providing logistical support for the operation to extract the American men from Kabul.
The plan for the exchange was communicated to Trump's national security adviser by Biden's adviser, who stated that the Trump administration had acknowledged and not objected to the deal. However, a senior Trump administration official later expressed reservations about the swap, noting that they would not have pursued the same agreement but were pleased to see the safe return of the two Americans.
