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Why Do Congressional Republicans Give Obama Grief Over Not Notifying Them With Bergdahl Release

What do people think about the prisoner trade involving Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl?

I've been debating this with a friend in the military.  From what we know now he does not deserve it.  But it was the right thing to do.  Lets break it down.1.  Leave no man behind.  It is not leave no man behind except for people who have yet to be tried for desertion.  While it looks like he does not deserve to benefit from this policy, the problem is that once the Commander in Chief starts making exemptions, it becomes a slippery slope.  2.  Prisoner exchange.  Warring parties have been doing this for a long time.  Israel releases hundreds, even over a thousand prisoners, for one Israeli soldier.3.   No negotiation with terrorists.  He was classified as a captured American soldier, not a civilian hostage.  No negotiation with terrorists?  So we never negotiate with the Taliban?  What about a peace treaty?  What about Iran, who sponsors terrorism?  No negotiation with them?   On  a technical point, my understanding is that the Taliban has not been classified as a terrorist organization by the United States.  We negotiate with our enemies not our friends. 4.  The released prisoners will be fighting us.  Of course they will.  And in most other exchanges, we might put the soldier back into the armed forces.  That is the nature of prisoner exchanges.  Its part of the deal.5. He was a deserter.  Maybe he was.  It appears clear that he voluntarily left his post.  It is not clear whether he did so with the intention of never returning which is required to prove he deserted.  He deserves to be held to account for this upon his return.  But, he first needs to be returned and then tried.6. He wasn't a traitor.  I have yet to see any evidence that he took up arms against the US or collaborated with the enemy.  To the contrary, he was held captive by the Taliban.7.  He caused the death of six others. If found to be the case after his trial, I expect the punishment to take that into account.8.  Failure to notify Congress.  At issue, but the executive branch should be held accountable.  If this were a war hero, nobody would be complaining under these circumstances.9.  Glorification.  Neither Obama nor Hagel heaped any praise upon him.  Rice did exercise poor judgment in her words.  All the attention he got is a double edged sword.  I think he is going to become the subject of scorn and seen as the undeserving beneficiary of a longstanding policy.  To the extent the administration thought it could be used for political gain, that backfired on them.

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