Taliban Offer Swap In South Korean Hostage Situation

I continue to have a problem with any prisoner swap for hostages taken by terrorist groups or rogue regimes, and this is no exception:

The Taliban have said it is prepared to swap women hostages among 21 South Koreans being held in Afghanistan for female prisoners linked to the group.

Tuesday's offer came after the Afghan president and his US counterpart ruled out making any concessions to the kidnappers.

"We do not know the exact number of Taliban women imprisoned by the Afghan government, but if [Kabul] lets them go, we will release the same number of female hostages," Yonhap news agency in Seoul quoted Yousef Ahmadi, a purported Taliban spokesman, as saying.

Gordon Johndroe, White House spokesman, said after Monday's summit: "Both leaders agreed that in negotiations for the release, there should be no quid pro quo for the hostages."

If a prisoner swap is conducted, it sets a real bad precedent and endangers others who enter Afghanistan - they too could become hostages for use in swapping terrorists and thugs held in Afghan prisons.

The Taliban know that they've got the South Koreans over a barrel - they've already watched two of the hostages murdered in cold blood and the Taliban have threatened to kill the rest if their demands are not met. In the face of a determined foe such as this, relenting is extremely dangerous.