News of the Day for Sunday, June 1, 2014

Only known U.S. POW in Afghanistan, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, is freed in exchange for 5 prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. Bergdahl was captured nearly 5 years ago and is believed to have been held by the Haqqani Network. President Obama, accompanied by Bergdahl's parents, said "While Bowe was gone, he was never forgotten. The United States of America does not ever leave our men and women in uniform behind.” The trade was brokered by the government of Qatar, which will accept the prisoners from Guantanamo. The circumstances of Bergdahl's capture are unclear. It has been reported that he left his base unarmed, without authorization. However, U.S. officials have denied Taliban claims that he was a collaborator. He is currently at Bagram Field for evaluation and will return home via Germany.

Taliban say the 5 released men will live with their families in Qatar.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, in Afghanistan on a surprise visit, meets with the special forces team that accepted Bergdahl from his captors. Hagel will hold talks with commanders regarding the readiness and capability of Afghan forces.

Two children killed, 1 injured by an IED in southern Kandahar province.

Four Taliban are said to have been killed in Kunar Province in what is called a "public uprising."

Interior Ministry outdoes itself this time, claiming 34 Taliban killed in past 24 hours, as usual with zero government or civilian casualties. [Given this extraordinary, unblemished record of martial success over the past two years I can't imagine why Hagel is in any way concerned about the readiness of Afghan forces. They are obviously invincible, invulnerable, and inerrant. -- C]

Taliban attack Pakistani positions near the Afghan border, prompting Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan which Afghan officials say killed 5 civilians.

Update: Reuters has more details on the release of Bowe Bergdahl, who as of noon EDT is in Landstuhl. Predictably, Republican politicians are criticizing the deal with the Taliban and the release of Taliban prisoners. But Ronald Reagan, as is apparently forgotten, gave sophisticated weapons to Iran in part to win the release of hostages held in Lebanon. Since Afghan forces claim they kill 25 to 30 Taliban every day, five more are going to be less than 20% of one day's attrition -- probably not that big of a deal.