Was the President's decision to negotiate with terrorists a good decision?
Did the questioner mean do we (people have no inside information about the details of the exchange) think that it was a good decision?Yes, I do.Why?Bowe Bergdahl is an American service member - Regardless of how he came into the Taliban’s grasp, it is the duty of the US military to do whatever it takes to ensure that he returned home safely if possible. The President is the Commander-in-Chief so that means it is his responsibility as well.The Taliban members traded for him - Were captured long ago, hadn’t been part of the organization for many years and are probably under the suspicion of their fellows. Releasing them had (and has) very limited downsides as they are probably not going to return to the battle and they probably won’t be trusted to do so by their peers.The Taliban members traded for him # 2 - Eventually they are all going to have to be released or die in custody. To be blunt, if the US government could trade them for something, then it was/is a valuable trade. Maintaining them in Guantanamo cost money and was a constant security risk. Why not be rid of them?It’s good PR - The VA scandal may last for months, it’s been a week since Memorial Day and there are bumps in the road ahead. Since most people are either going to be positive or neutral about the release of a POW, there really wasn’t too much of a downside from what was clearly a public relations maneuver.There don’t seem to be too many negatives from releasing useless prisoners in exchange for a captive American soldier.