The Biden administration is engaged in discussions with the Taliban to exchange three American citizens held in Afghanistan for a Guantanamo Bay detainee with alleged ties to Osama bin Laden. Initial reports from The Wall Street Journal, later confirmed by a White House official to Fox News, reveal that the negotiations, underway since at least July 2024, center around the release of Americans George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett, and Mahmoud Habibi, detained in 2022, in return for suspected senior al Qaeda operative Muhammad Rahim al Afghani.

Following a November proposal for the exchange by the White House, the Taliban countered, requesting Rahim and two additional detainees for the release of Glezmann and Corbett. Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee were briefed on the situation by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan during a classified session on December 17, 2024, where concerns were raised about the fairness of the Taliban's counteroffer.

Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann, and Mahmoud Habibi are currently held in Afghanistan. (James Foley Foundation)

A National Security Council spokesperson affirmed the administration's commitment to securing the safe return of the detained Americans, highlighting President Biden's track record of bringing home over 75 unjustly detained Americans from various countries over the past four years.

While the State Department recognizes Glezmann and Corbett as wrongfully detained, the Taliban denies holding Habibi. Corbett was reportedly apprehended in mid-2022 while traveling with a German colleague, and Glezmann was detained in December of the same year during a visit to the country. Habibi's disappearance followed the U.S. operation against al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, with suspicions pointing towards detention by Afghan forces.

Muhammad Rahim al Afghani is sought by the Taliban in the proposed prisoner exchange.

Mahmood Habibi with his daughter in Qatar in June 2022. (Ahmad Habibi)

Families of the detained Americans, expressing concerns about the deteriorating health of Glezmann and Corbett, have been urging the Biden administration for their release for two years. Anna Corbett, Ryan Corbett's wife, voiced her frustration over the lack of direct engagement with the President despite repeated efforts to secure her husband's freedom.

The Taliban has consistently pushed for the release of Rahim, held at Guantanamo Bay since 2008. The Guantanamo Bay prison review board, citing Rahim's alleged involvement with senior al Qaeda figures and attacks on U.S. and allied forces, justified his continued detention in 2023. In a letter to the board, Rahim portrayed himself as an aging individual in poor health, expressing a desire to pursue culinary interests upon release.

Camp VI detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Muhammad Rahim al Afghani is alleged to have been a close associate of Osama bin Laden.

This situation coincides with the Biden administration's recent transfer of 11 Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Oman for resettlement, including two former bodyguards of bin Laden, as part of efforts to reduce the population at the facility.