He can’t wait to get back to his favorite pastime — trying to kill Americans.
Upon arriving in Qatar, Noorullah Noori, one of the five top Taliban leaders exchanged for US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, wasted no time making his plans clear.
He “kept insisting he would go to Afghanistan and fight American forces there,” a Taliban commander told NBC News on Friday.
Under the terms of the exchange, Noori and his four fellow fanatics are supposed to remain in Qatar for a year under “supervision” by officials of that country.
But one of the terrorist’s relatives apparently believes there may be a loophole.
The family member told the network he’d learned that the US provided written assurance that no government would arrest the freed prisoners as long as they lived “peacefully.”
There was no immediate comment from US officials on this claim.
Noori, 47, was one of the Taliban’s most vicious commanders, according to reports.
He was believed to have been present at a 2001 prison riot that led to the death of Johnny Michael Spann, a CIA operative who was the first American killed in the Afghan war.
He’s also been implicated in the murders of thousands of Shiites who opposed the Taliban.
Americans aren’t alone in their rage over the deal.
Many Afghans are equally horrified.
Among the others released was Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Fazl, who orchestrated some of the most horrific carnage in the country, including torching homes and executing their opponents in one village.
His freedom infuriated survivors who will never forget the slaughter of their friends and relatives.
“Why is the US releasing the enemies of peace, the enemies of Afghanistan?” fumed Mohammad Arif, who fled to the Pakistani city of Peshawar with 18 members of his extended family after the bloody assault.
He returned when US-led forces ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.
In other developments:
- A political war is raging in the US over the highly controversial trade of five dangerous prisoners for a soldier who may have deserted his post. Senate Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal.) said she isn’t convinced there was a “credible threat” against Bergdahl’s life. President Obama has claimed he could not keep a promise to Congress to give advance notification of any prisoner releases from Guantanamo because Bergdahl’s life would have been jeopardized if word of the deal leaked.
- Bergdahl, who is being treated at a US military hospital in Germany, has started to converse with the staff. But the soldier has not yet spoken to his family.
- Bergdahl’s parents were able to send him a video message recorded partly in Pashto, the language of the Taliban, which the dad learned how to speak while his son was in captivity. Hospital staff say there is no set date for Bergdahl’s release, adding they’re working with psychologists to prepare him to return home.