Taliban not a terrorist group? White House official says it’s ‘armed insurgency’ - RT

A White House spokesperson preferred to talk of the Taliban as “an armed insurgency” rather than a terrorist organization during a press briefing, when a reporter pressed him about Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release.

Responding to a question posed by ABC’s chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, deputy press secretary Eric Schultz argued the US can swap prisoners with the Taliban because the group is not a terrorist organization but “an armed insurgency.”

“As you know this was highly discussed at the time and prisoner swaps are a traditional end-of-conflict interaction that happens. As the war in Afghanistan wound down, we felt like it was the appropriate thing to do,” Schultz replied.

Schultz added: “I’d also point out that the Taliban is an armed insurgency. ISIL is a terrorist group. So we don’t make concessions to terrorist groups.”

Karl pressed: “You don’t think the Taliban is a terrorist group?”

“I don’t think that the Taliban…the Taliban is an armed insurgency,” Schultz said after a pause. “This was the winding down of the war in Afghanistan, and that’s why this arrangement was dealt.”  Read More at  White House official says it’s ‘armed insurgency’