Republican lawmakers angered by a White House deal to swap five Taliban prisoners for a captured U.S. soldier in Afghanistan on Monday demanded hearings over why the Obama administration reached the agreement without consulting Congress.
Adding to criticism of the decision to negotiate the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl were accusations by some soldiers who served with him that they consider Bergdahl a deserter who cost the lives of several comrades."We need a thorough review of this decision," said Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. "With President Obama's announcement of a total withdrawal (of U.S. forces) from Afghanistan by 2016 ... and now releasing five Taliban leaders, it's safe to say last week was a great week for the Taliban."
Texas Representative Mac Thornberry, vice chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, said: "The president violated a provision of law in not giving Congress advanced notice. And while you can always argue that, 'well, this was an emergency, he needed to act quickly,' this pattern of violating the law is also a danger to national security."
Fox News Q: Just a quick follow up on Matt's question. You mentioned because Sergeant Bergdahl is a member of the military you went after him. If you have a Marine reservist in Mexico, why can't you do a similar swap for him?
MS. PSAKI: I understand the desire to make comparisons, but we wouldn't compare them.
This is -- it was a Marine [sic] who was taken while in combat, and you're talking about a situation of an individual who the Mexican authorities are accusing of violating the law.
Fox News Q: But I'm sure we have five cartel members or somebody in jail we could swap in exchange for this Marine. Would that be a good -- MS. PSAKI: Thank you for your advice, Lucas (sp), but every situation is different. Do you have another question?
Jim Hoft, The Gateway Pundit
The five Guantanamo detainees released by the Obama administration in exchange for America’s last prisoner of war arrived in Qatar today.
As Brian Ross reported on ABC:
“The terror group is calling their release a major victory. New video posted this morning on an Afghan news website shows the five former detainees arriving in Qatar with no sign they are under any sort of custody or guard.… They received a hero’s welcome.”
The last time National Security Adviser Susan Rice made a memorable appearance on the Sunday morning news shows it was on five different networks in 2012 to spread the ridiculous and untrue fable that a YouTube video had been the cause of four deaths in Benghazi, as opposed to terrorists the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton should have been prepared for. This Sunday, Rice might have been caught in a brand new fib.
Rice appeared on ABC's This Week to defend Obama's release of The Taliban Dream Team from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been a Taliban prisoner in Pakistan for five years. Other than setting the terrible precedent of negotiating with terrorists, the exchange has become controversial over claims that Bergdahl was a deserter who simply walked away from his post. Rice, however, said on ABC that Bergdahl had been "taken in battle."
These ex-detainees pose no threats whatsoever. They've been locked up for years. The war has passed them by. Other, younger, hungrier terrorists have taken their place. They're so out of date with what's going in with the Taliban, let alone the stigma they'll always carry for being captured rather than committing suicide, that I'll bet most of them hope they'll never have to go back to the stone age cesspool they came from. The only "secrets" they'll be able to reveal is what Cuba looks like outside the fence and what waterboarding feels like.
I'm withholding judgement on this POW situation until more is clear, but did anyone else notice that after this announcement, the VA scandal and all the outrage just up and poofed from the news?
Obama has previously expressed concern about the congressional notification requirement, which was passed as part of the 2014 defense bill. In a statement that accompanied his signing of that legislation, Obama said the executive branch must have flexibility "to act swiftly in conducting negotiations with foreign countries regarding the circumstances of detainee transfers."Wait...so he signed it, then went against it? And what about that marine in Mexico...who are we trading for him? What about James Joseph Dresnok?
Why don't we trade 5 Mexican "prisoners" for the Marine sitting in a Tijuana jail? ICE/INS whatever they call themselves these days should be able to find 5 pretty quick.
I'm glad he is out of that hell hole, must have been horrible to be held as a captive. I'm also saddened that men lost their lives to look for him. I bet that is eating him up inside. I love the hate in this thread about Obama. I guess no one can be as honorable as bush, I mean he never did anything illegal. Only thing I'm worried about is next time. We set a precedent that we do negotiate, and I wonder what that will cost us. Sad thing is we put this on ourselves. Gitmo has made this GWOT worse as did the wars. It'll be interesting to see how this enfolds.
Nowhere else in America does the defense "It was against the law, but I really needed to" work. I'm just as bad, though...I'm not out protesting, I'm complaining behind my keyboard. Hope my kids don't pay for to precedents we are setting.Also...what did he think was going to happen when he walked off the base? The Taliban would pick him up and they would enjoy tea? Darwin's rolling over.
POW? What the...? Those peace loving Afghani Muslims would never hold anyone prisoner. Heck in this case there was no need to. His own unit said he left voluntarily and was AWOL. A court martial to determine the circumstances is in order. Besides there is no need to worry about the 5 released terror chiefs, they promised to stay in Qatar so no problem. Now back to Benghazi, VA, and all the other scandals and corruption this bunch of crooks is in to right now.
I'm withholding judgement on this POW situation until more is clear, but did anyone else notice that after this announcement, the VA scandal and all the outrage just up and poofed from the news?
Smoke & mirrors? The media can be a useful tool. Truth be told, I always question the official reasons for sending our service men and women into harm's way. I always hope my fellow Americans make it home safely and I'm glad this soldier made it back home, regardless of his opinions. I've never served and cannot imagine the pressures and intensity of combat. Nor can I imagine the comradery that exists between soldiers fighting side-by-side. If the media reports can be believed, I can't help but think there may have been better (maybe not easier) alternatives to the choices he made.
Dear Vinny,You have a big head.Love,Randy Ewing, Active Duty ArmyI'd like to clarify. I'm not upset that they brought him home, I'm upset that the law was broken in order to do it. Well, I AM upset that the news started out calling him a hero. What started all this (for me) was the news was talking about a hero coming home. I was in Iraq when he was captured/walked off, but when I was in Afghanistan "going Bowe Berghdal" was a joke. The fact that many in his own unit speak ill of him tells us volumes. IMHO, it's not surprise that Mr Hagel was met with silence when he informed soldiers on Bagram about Bowe's return.
One of my friends that I went to AIT with was assigned to Bowe's unit. He's saying that the Taliban refer to Bowe as the "white Talib" and that he found this out when he was sent to look for him.
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