Why Did The U.S. Negotiate With the Taliban?

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Public sentiment regarding Bergdahl’s safe return home after 5 years in captivity is all over the map. Some are cheering the president for doing whatever it took to rescue an American prisoner of war. Others are criticizing the president’s actions as treasonous and are using the “I” word (impeachment) for his breaking the unwritten rule against negotiating with the enemy. Still others are calling the rescued Bergdahl a traitor and a disgrace to his country for abandoning his post, for allowing himself to be captured and for putting the lives of his fellow soldiers in harms way during search and rescue missions for him.

The Taliban captured then 23-year-old Bergdahl on June 30, 2009, after he deserted his guard duty post with only a compass, a knife, water, a digital camera and a diary.  For unknown reasons, Bergdahl stated a desire to walk from Afghanistan to Pakistan or India, despite warnings that such a move would be like releasing a gazelle into a jungle of lions.  When he went through with his walk, he was captured (as expected) by the Taliban and he spent 5 years in their custody.

Recently, the Taliban brokered a deal with the U.S. (mediated by the government of Qatar) to release Bergdahl to U.S. special forces in exchange for 5 Afghan detainees who were being held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. agreed and the now 29-year-old Bergdahl was released last weekend — but so were Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Nori, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Mohammad Nabi Omari — all mid- to high-ranking Taliban militants who had been at Guatanamo Bay since it opened in 2002.

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The White House touted Bergdahl’s recovery as “a reminder of America’s unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield.”

“We maintain an ironclad commitment to bring our prisoners of war home,” President Obama said in a Rose Garden press conference last Saturday, shortly after Bergdahl’s release. “That’s who we are as Americans.”

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called Bergdahl’s return “a powerful reminder of the enduring, sacred commitment our nation makes to all those who serve in uniform.”

“The United States government never forgot Sgt. Bergdahl, nor did we stop working to bring him back,” Hagel said in a statement.

However, the Afghanistan government protested the deal, as did several U.S. Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John McCain (R-Ariz.).

“These are the hardest of the hard core,” Sen. McCain said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday. “These are the highest high-risk people, and others that we have released have gone back into the fight.”

“It is disturbing that these individuals would have the ability to reenter the fight,” he added.

Some of Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers are also speaking out against the trade, calling him a “deserter” for walking away from his base.

“I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything going on,” former Sgt. Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl’s platoon when he went missing, said. “Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him.”

Former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), who previously served in the military, argued on his website that Bergdahl was not “captured” by the Taliban and is no hero.

“His disappearance can only be classified as desertion and the media must not be so giddy about a good news story that they don’t tell the truth — which is apparent to many,” West wrote. “The allegation of desertion is serious. It is grave because it occurred during a war, during combat operations.”

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So what exactly is going on here with Sgt. Bergdahl and his release? Did President Obama and his administration do the right thing by bringing this soldier home at all costs? Or did the president have an epic fail by negotiating with terrorists, possibly opening Pandora’s box for future military captures that will only be resolved with the U.S. releasing more terrorists?  Is Bergdahl a traitor to his country for walking away from his military post, while jeopardizing himself and the entire U.S. military in the process? Or is it possible there’s something much deeper going on here and that the Obama administration knows exactly what it is doing?

Bergdahl may have actually been a spy. Bergdahl may have been preparing to release sensitive information to the enemy. Who knows? There are a million possibilities. But one thing is for sure: the White House believed that Bergdahl’s return home was infinitely more important than the release of 5 dangerous terrorists back into the wild.  Why?  We may never know. But there must have been one hell of a reason!