U.S. officials suspect that one of the five Taliban detainees released from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has attempted to return to terrorism, CNN reported Thursday.
The former prisoner, being held in Qatar, is believed to have tried to make contact with Taliban associates in Afghanistan, officials told CNN.
NBC News reported that it's unknown whether the man actually connected with the Taliban or if it was a true effort to actually rejoin militants. The name of the former detainee has not been disclosed.
From CNN:
[A]n ongoing U.S. intelligence program to secretly intercept and monitor all of their communications in Qatar turned up evidence in recent months that one of them has "reached out" to try to encourage militant activity, one official said. The official would offer no further details.Under current law, this act placed the man in the category of being "suspected" of re-engaging in terrorist or insurgent activities. However, several officials say there is now a debate inside the administration that the intelligence may be stronger than the "suspected" classification. Some elements of the intelligence community believe the information is strong enough to classify the man as "confirmed" for returning to illegal activities. All five men are having their communications even more closely monitored right now, but the belief is there is no current threat, one official told CNN.
"We're closely monitoring the situation and see no potential threat," an official told NBC.
The prisoner swap, which occurred in May, drew ire from lawmakers who said the Obama administration broke federal law by not first informing Congress.
Bergdahl was back in the news this week with reports that the Army was preparing to charge him with desertion after he disappeared from his Afghanistan post in 2009 and was held in captivity for five years. The Army denied that any decision on charges had been made.
