President Barack Obama defended the administration’s decision to swap five Taliban prisoners for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl during a press conference in Poland on Tuesday, but warned that there was “absolutely” a chance the former Guantanamo Bay detainees could return to terrorist activities.
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“In terms of potential threats, the release of the Taliban who were being held in Guantanamo was conditioned on the Qataris keeping eyes on them and creating a structure in which we can monitor their activities. We’ll be keeping eyes on them,” he said. “Is there the possibility of some of them trying to return to activities that are detrimental to us? Absolutely. That’s been true of all prisoners that were released from Guantanamo Bay. There is a certain recidivism rate that takes place.”
President Obama did reassure the press his administration wouldn’t have brokered the deal if officials believed it posed a threat to national security.
According to a March report from the Director of National Intelligence, roughly 30 percent of detainees transferred out of Guantanamo Bay since its inception have been either confirmed or suspected of reengaging in terrorist activities. Since January 2009, 8.5 percent of prisoners released have been suspected or confirmed of returning to terrorist activities.
During an appearance Monday on Fox News’ ‘The Kelly File,” former Vice President Dick Cheney warned it was likely the released detainees would return to the battlefield and feared “we’ll end up paying another kind of price because of the transaction that’s been negotiated here.”
“They have, in fact, negotiated with terrorists, and I don’t think they got a very good deal,” Cheney said of the Obama administration. “…I think there’s a distinct possibility that these five will go back into battle.”
The president has been under fire for releasing what some say is the “Taliban Dream Team” and for executing a deal without consulting Congress first. The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act requires the White House give Congress 30 days notice before releasing prisoners from a detention camp.
