Biden’s call comes just before Frerichs, a US Navy veteran who spent ten years in Afghanistan as a civil engineer, is held hostage for exactly two years. Biden said in a statement on Sunday: “Threatening the safety of Americans or other innocent civilians is always unacceptable. And a hostage-taking is an act of extraordinary cruelty and cowardice.”
The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. This ended a war that lasted more than two decades. The struggle began with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and ended with the Taliban regaining power. However, the US administration has often reiterated that the new Taliban regime will have to “earn” its recognition by the international community.
The Taliban negotiators are said to have previously proposed a prisoner swap. In doing so, Frerichs would be exchanged for Bashir Noorzai. That is an Afghan warlord and alleged Taliban ally who has been imprisoned for life in the United States for smuggling heroin into the country. The US would have replied at the time that it was not interested in such a deal.