By Charles Hoskinson
AFGHANISTAN IS DRIVING THE DAY TODAY, with talk of a possible deal to move Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a boost to stalled peace talks, along with gloomy assessments of that country’s future after a U.S. withdrawal.
FIRST THE DEAL – U.S. officials said no decisions have been made, but there are clear signs a deal is in the works to move five Taliban prisoners to Qatar, where the Taliban are expected to open an office for the purpose of negotiating peace. SASC Chairman Levin said White House officials came to the Hill to brief him and others on the issue, and McCain said administration officials had ignored his objections to the idea, which he said was “in exchange for a statement by the Taliban.”
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS TODAY that the Afghan government has lifted its previous objection to the transfer to Qatar after the U.S. negotiators agreed to put them under some sort of legal Afghan custody. http://usat.ly/yCt3zL
FROM AN ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL, who spoke on condition of anonymity — “In wartime, this is the kind of thing you do. You do give up enemy officers. It happens.” Regarding the safeguards Qatar would impose, the official told POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein: “They’re very sound. …They were honed with an appropriate attention to detail.”
ANY TRANSFER WOULD NOT TAKE PLACE until at least 30 days after Obama notifies Congress of his decision to do so, under provisions of the defense bill he signed into law on New Year’s Eve. Congressional aides would neither confirm nor deny that such notification had been received.
MCCAIN SAYS HE’LL TRY TO MARSHAL public opinion to stop the proposal, which he called “really, really bizarre,” adding: “This whole thing is highly questionable because the Taliban know we’re leaving. They know we’re leaving. Put yourself in their shoes.”

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