US releasing Taliban fighters

[Redalgo]

Not enough information is provided for me to develop a strong opinion on the matter. Some of the fighters are obviously hardcore idealists committed to the Jihadist cause. Yet one would do well to also bear in mind some members of the organization are opportunistic criminals who are profiting from the war economy, while many others are strongly convinced the U.S. is just another imperial power that has come to dominate their people and destroy their ways of life (i.e. crush Islam in all of its forms to be replaced with Western secularism, as a suspected initial step in a greater plot to impose Christianity). It would not surprise me if some actors within the Taliban were now ready to negotiate peace, or at least if many of their fighters just want Western forces out of Afghanistan and would leave us alone once we get out of their country. Without an explanation of what kind of prisoners are being released, how, for what purposes, and without having a clear overview of all the options put on the table I cannot confidently decide on if the releases are a good or bad idea.

One way or another though, in the long-term we can't effectively fight terrorism just by killing and incarcerating people. It's a conflict with many fronts, not all of which involve the use of hard power.