(CNN) -- Early in 2002, shortly after the U.S. overthrow of the Taliban regime, Taliban leader Khairullah Khairkhwa phoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai asking for a job. As a member of the same tribe, he had known the Karzai family for years, and was hoping to use this link to switch allegiances to the new U.S.-backed Afghan government, a move typical of the twists and turns of the country's 30 years of war. Karzai promised to help, and referred Khairkhwa to his brother Ahmed Wali Karzai, a close CIA ally based in Kandahar province. Ahmed Wali Karzai agreed to send a representative to meet Khairkhwa in Pakistan. But before this could transpire, a rival Taliban figure alerted the Pakistani border police to Khairkhwa's presence. He was arrested, handed over to the Americans, and sent to Guantanamo.
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5 Taliban leaders are released in a deal to trade for POW Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl
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Anand Gopal: Three of the five had joined or tried to join the Afghan government
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He says the notion of "terrorist" is remarkably fluid in the context of Afghan politics
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Gopal: Prisoner swap could be a step toward a negotiated settlement
Khairullah Khairkhwa
Khairkhwa
Khairkhwa
Khairkhwa
In fact, all five of the swapped prisoners were initially captured while trying to cut deals, and like @placeholder, three had been attempting to join, or had already joined, the Afghan government at the time of their arrest.
Taliban
Taliban
Taliban
Taliban
"He would sit there and tell me, 'if I see a @placeholder, I won't even let him take a piss, I'm going to turn him in.'"