WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Obama Administration’s decision to release five “mid- to high-level officials from the Taliban regime” in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl endangers deployed military personnel and threatens national security, Reps. Martha Roby (R-AL2) and Bradley Byrne (R-AL1) said today.
“Today our soldiers fighting in Afghanistan are in greater danger because of an ill-advised, secret deal brokered by the Secretary of Defense and the President to release Taliban combatants,” Rep. Roby said in a release. “Our enemy now has every incentive to capture Americans overseas and try to broker a deal to get their jihadist friends released.
“The United States must always try to free Americans held prisoner in enemy territory, but negotiating with jihadist enemy combatants should never be an option. We don’t negotiate with terrorists because it invites more terrorism. I fear we have invited more danger upon our nation and not less, and that is deeply disturbing.”
Rep. Roby also urged the Army to investigate the circumstances surrounding Sgt. Bergdahl’s disappearance. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey has said that the Army will look into cases of misconduct by Sgt. Bergdahl. Leaders of the House Armed Services Committee have indicated that they will hold hearings on the issue in the coming weeks.
Roby recently relinquished her post on Armed Services after being appointed to Appropriations, but her Alabama colleague, Rep. Byrne, continues to serve on the committee.
“America does not negotiate with terrorists,” Byrne said bluntly. “This is a longstanding policy that protects our troops from hostage-taking and sends a strong message that terrorist activity will not be tolerated. Unfortunately, it is my belief that the Administration has not only violated this policy, but that they have broken the statute requiring Congressional notification 30 days prior to any such transfer. Secretary Hagel must appear before our committee to answer for the Administration’s choice to move forward with this transfer without following the law, and prove to the American people that freeing these senior Taliban detainees poses no threat to our national security.”
Sgt. Bergdahl had been missing for almost five years after allegedly walking off from an eastern Afghanistan military base in 2009. He was subsequently held captive by insurgent forces associated with the Taliban. On Saturday, President Obama announced that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl would be released from Taliban captivity in exchange for five Taliban prisoners who were being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Many Americans initially cheered the announcement of Bergdahl’s release. But concern, and even outrage, increased as more details emerged. Several of Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers have publicly called him a deserter.
“I was pissed off then, and I am even more so now with everything going on,” said former Sgt. Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl’s platoon. “Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war, and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him.”
At least six American soldiers have been killed looking for him over the last several years.
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