The White House is trying to allay renewed fears that the “Taliban Five,” the Guantanamo Bay detainees released last June in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl would return to the battlefield in Afghanistan.
President Obama’s deputy press secretary Eric Schultz told reporters Thursday that the U.S. has confidence it would be able to mitigate the risk of the released detainees.
“We do remain in continuous communication with the Qatari government, but I’m not going to be able to comment on the specifics of those conversations,” Schultz told reporters traveling with the president on Air Force One.
“But we do have tremendous confidence that, working closely with our partners, we are going to be — we will be able to continue to be in a strong position to substantially mitigate the potential risk that these individuals may pose.”
The Army’s decision, announced Wednesday, to charge Bergdahl with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy has renewed a furious debate over Obama’s decision to make the swap and sets the stage for an emotionally-charged court battle in the coming months.
Reporters asked Schultz whether Obama regrets making the swap, and he repeated earlier statements from both Obama and other White House officials that the exchange was in line with the U.S. military’s policy of not leaving any American soldier behind.
“That’s an oath that is very solemn to the president,” he said. “And as Americans, we have an unwavering commitment and patriotic duty to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield.”
“Sgt. Bergdahl’s recovery is a reminder of that commitment, and our solemn obligation to recover our captured servicemen and women has no qualifications,” he added.
Republicans on Capitol Hill used news of the desertion charges to once again decry Obama’s decision to make the exchange without Congress’s knowledge or consent.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Thursday urged the Obama administration to take steps to ensure that the Taliban Five are not permitted to return to the battlefield in Afghanistan.
The administration made a deal with Qatar to take the five detainees into that country and impose a one-year travel ban prohibiting them from leaving Qatar, but that restriction could soon expire, Ayotte pointed out.
“With Americans continuing to serve in Afghanistan, it would be unacceptable to allow the Taliban Five to return to the battlefield there, especially since the administration could have continued to hold these individuals in Law of War detention,” she said.
“No American should ever have to confront a former Guantanamo detainee on the battlefield,” she continued. “Based on disturbing public reports regarding the Taliban Five, I am concerned that the administration is not doing enough to prevent that from happening.”
Ayotte has written a bill that would suspend transfers of the most dangerous Guantanamo detainees to foreign countries, prevent the transfer of detainees to the United States, and require greater transparency with the American people regarding detainees. The Armed Services Committee passed the measure last month but it could face an uphill battle once it reaches the Senate floor with many Democrats likely to oppose it.
