Voices from the Past: Warnings that Bowe Bergdahl prisoner exchange would come back to bite us

In 2017, President Obama released Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five Guantanamo prisoners, Mullah Norullah Nori, Mohammed Nabi Omari, Mohammed Fazl, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Abdul Haq Wasiq.

At the time VOA reported that the five Taliban commanders released by the United States in a prisoner swap to win the freedom of an American solider were among the most senior Afghans held at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.
 
All five were flown to Qatar, which has pledged to hold them for a year under terms the United States negotiated to win the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by the Taliban for nearly five years.
 
The U.S. captured the five terrorism suspects at least a decade ago.
 
All five were removed from battlefields in the first years of the U.S. effort to destroy Taliban military operations in Afghanistan believed responsible for the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. 
 
They had formal government jobs when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
 
Some U.S. officials fear the five could eventually return to Afghanistan and renew their fight against the Afghan government and Western interests, as have other prisoners released from Guantanamo.

When Bergdahl deserted his post, he turned his back on all US service members, knowingly jeopardized the lives of the soldiers he abandoned and of those who searched for him, and betrayed the trust of the American people. Paying Berghdal would be a disgrace matched only by his actions.”

Washington, DC – In 2017, Congressmen Garret Graves (R-LA) and Tim Walz (D-MN) introduced legislation to prevent Army Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl from being awarded any back pay or allowances from the United States Army.  Bergdahl pled guilty to desertion and misbehavior rather than face trial for leaving his post while deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. He will not serve any jail time, and the Army is currently reviewing the issue of awarding Bergdahl back pay. Under current Army regulation, Bergdahl’s status was “absent from his post without authority” for the one day he abandoned his post.  After being captured by the Taliban, his detainment is classified as “missing-captured,” a time period for which the Army may decide to award him with back pay and allowances.  President Obama made the decision to exchange five Guantanamo Bay detainees for Bergdahl in 2014.

“Bergdahl’s actions put the lives of countless service members in jeopardy and directly caused serious injuries that many will live with for the rest of their lives. The idea of Bergdahl receiving any back pay is absurd – those funds should go to the service members and families affected by the search that followed his desertion. Putting others in harm’s way is something the Army should take very seriously, which is why I recently joined many colleagues in requesting the Army not award Bergdahl any back pay. Additionally, we introduced this legislation to prohibit funds from being awarded to Bergdahl for his time detained. Under our legislation, those funds would instead be redirected to the service members who bravely searched for Bergdahl,” says Graves.

“To succeed and return home safely, our men and women in uniform count on each other to do their jobs and entrust in each other their lives,” Walz said. “This legislation is the least we can do to honor the brave service members who risked their lives in search of Mr. Bergdahl.”

The term “absent from his post without authority” doesn’t properly convey the seriousness of this offense.  Graves added, “The U.S. military represents the very best of our country. Bergdahl’s decision to abandon his post is an insult to his fellow service members and should not be rewarded in any manner.”

The warnings were clear, in a hearing by multiple subcommittees to include

SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM:  THE BERGDAHL EXCHANGE: IMPLICATIONS FOR
                  U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE FIGHT
                           AGAINST TERRORISM

Releasing five senior Taliban commanders 
may put the lives of our senior service members and Americans 
around the world at risk. One of the five detainees was a 
Deputy Chief of the Taliban's Intelligence Service. One 
detainee fought alongside al-Qaeda as a Taliban Military 
General. Another was a Senior Commander wanted by the United 
Nations for war crimes and worked closely with al-Qaeda and 
their affiliates. In fact, he led an attack with al-Qaeda the 
day before 9/11. Al-Qaeda called this attack an important part 
of the 9/11 total strategy. And still another was a close 
confidante of Taliban Leader Mullah Omar.
    The terms of the release to Qatar are quite disturbing. 
They may help out the Taliban while they are in Qatar, and it's 
very likely that all of them will end up fighting alongside the 
Taliban in Afghanistan later in the year. That will be about 
the time United States forces will be leaving and the Afghans 
will be on their own.
    It appears that recent law that was signed by the President 
was violated in this secret deal. This law, among other things, 
requires two things; that the administration must notify 
Congress 30 days before releasing Guantanamo Bay detainees. 
And, second, the administration has to specifically tell 
Congress how releasing each terrorist is in the national 
security interest of the United States. The administration did 
neither. Plus, it has been the policy of the United States not 
to negotiate with terrorists, and this seems to also have been 
violated.
    The Haqqani Network are the ones who held Sergeant 
Bergdahl. It's a designated foreign terrorist organization 
according to the United States State Department and has killed 
countless Americans and Afghan soldiers. It maintains close 
ties with al-Qaeda and it's the most dangerous terrorist group 
fighting in Afghanistan.
    It doesn't matter that Qatar acted as a go-between the 
United States because it did involve negotiating with 
terrorists in the Haqqani Network. This raises another concern 
close to home in Texas.
The administration's deal to swap five senior Taliban  officials for the Sergeant has far-reaching implications.  Negotiating and ultimately forging a deal with Taliban  terrorists unnecessarily endangers all of the service men and  women who are operating in war zones right now that these five  senior Taliban operatives are likely to rejoin the fight. And  it also inspires the Taliban and other terrorist groups to  conduct abductions of our armed forces personnel, as we have  already seen one Taliban commander admit that the Taliban is  now encouraged by the results of the Bergdahl trade.