Bergdahl Deal Stink Grows

ACTUALLY, IT STUNK PRETTY BADLY FROM THE GET-GO:  The New York Post editorial today, “As Five Taliban Officials Walk Free, Bergdahl Deal Stink Grows.”
[R]etired Gen. Stanley McChrystal revealed last week for the first time that he’d been informed almost immediately after Bergdahl’s 2009 capture that the soldier “walked off [his base] intentionally.”

Yet years later, in the runup to Obama’s trade, National Security Adviser Susan Rice claimed Berghdal had been “captured on the battlefield” after serving “with honor and distinction.” The State Department dismissed claims he’d deserted as “rumors.”
Under the terms of the deal, the five were shipped to Qatar, where they were banned from travel and subjected to monitoring. That arrangement expires today. . . .
The danger can’t be overemphasized: These were all senior commanders — one a deputy defense minister, another head of intelligence. At least one has been in touch with the Taliban and two others have met with the al Qaeda-affiliated Haqqani network in the past year.
Now these five terrorists, let go to bring an accused deserter home, may be free to once again target American soldiers. Some bargain, Mr. President.

Treasonous, frankly.  And as I’ve written about before, illegal.

By Elizabeth Price Foley - - Monday, June 2, 2014

ArmySgt. Bowe Bergdahl is free. His release was a unilateral horse trade by President Obama, who bought Sgt. Bergdahl’s freedom by releasing five Guantanamo terrorists to the country of Qatar. Unfortunately, the president’s decision was not only a bad deal for America, it was also a clear violation of federal law, and likely unconstitutional.

First, consider the implications of Mr. Obama’s deal. He negotiated with terrorists — never a good idea — and traded the freedom of one American soldier in exchange for five “high-risk” terrorists who will pose a continuing threat not only to our troops, but also innocent Americans. Moreover, serious questions have been raised about Sgt. Bergdahl’s loyalty to the United States.

Sgt. Bergdahl had grown disillusioned with the Army, went AWOL and disappeared into Afghanistan. Before his disappearance, he emailed his parents, expressing sympathy for the Afghans and complaining that the Army is “the biggest joke the world has to laugh at,” full of “liars, backstabbers, fools and bullies.” Sgt. Bergdahl’s father, a vocal antiwar advocate, tweeted that he was “working to free all Guantanamo prisoners,” and warning that “God will repay for the death of every Afghan child, ameen” — the Muslim equivalent of “amen.” Sadly, our president may have used his power to bring home a traitor.

As if these possibilities weren’t bad enough, Mr. Obama violated federal law. Section 1028 of the 2013 defense appropriations law prohibits any funds to be used “to transfer any individual detained at Guantanamo to the custody or control of any other foreign country” unless the secretary of defense certifies to Congress, “not later than 30 days before the transfer,” that the receiving country will detain the individual appropriately and “has taken or agreed to take such actions as the Secretary of Defense determines are necessary to ensure that the individual cannot engage or re-engage in any terrorist activity.”

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel did not comply with the 30-day rule, nor provide certification that these five Gitmo terrorists do not pose a future threat to the United States after transfer to Qatar.

The Obama administration justifies its noncompliance with federal law in two ways. First, it cites Subsection (d) of Section 1028, which permits Congress to be bypassed if transfer out of Gitmo “is in the national security interests of the United States.” Unfortunately, the administration has not articulated how, exactly, national security interests demanded the release of these five Taliban leaders.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/2/foley-selling-out-the-constitution-for-a-bad-priso/#ixzz3bpFfstgY 
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