ABC's 'Blotter:' Taliban 'Graduation' Leader Was Swapped for Italian Hostage

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By Pam Meister (Bio | Archive)
June 20, 2007 - 11:49 ET
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ABCNews.com's The Blotter has an update on their exclusive story of the recent Taliban "graduation ceremony":

The Taliban military commander [Mansoor Dadullah] who led the "graduation ceremony" for 300 suicide bombers was one of five men released from an Afghanistan prison earlier this year in exchange for a kidnapped Italian journalist.

[...]

Journalist Daniel Mastrogiacomo was kidnapped along with his interpreter and driver by Taliban fighters in early March.

A hostage trade was negotiated, in part by an Italian-run hospital organization, for his release in exchange for the release of five senior Taliban commanders that were in the custody of the Afghan federal government.

As Noel Sheppard noted, this story has gotten short shrift from the rest of the mainstream media.

Meanwhile, there continues to be plenty of coverage of the unfortunate deaths of seven children in Afghanistan during a US-led airstrike aimed at killing al-Qaeda operatives.

 


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Reminds me of Git Mo

June 21, 2007 - 12:07 ET by Gary Hall

Pam. This should be a headline story all over the media. In a sane world, at a time like this, this should send shock waves through the airwaves. Imagine the debate which should erupt (and be led by a curious and investigative media) over how this relates to the calls to close the terrorist detainment camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Not to mention those calls from the left to simply release all of them.

Aired January 27, 2002  on CNN

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT ... Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein vigorously defended their treatment.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: I just want to ask our friends who are so ready to be critical to take another look because I'll be very candid with you, I would much rather be here in an eight by eight with a breeze than locked down in Fulsome prison in California.