John Bolton, former United States ambassador to the United Nations, is decrying President Obama’s decision to hand over five top Taliban commanders in exchange for a single US POW from Afghanistan as being “despicable”. Aside from the politics of the situation, these facts are not in dispute:
The law required President Obama notify all relevant congressional committees of his intent to conduct the prisoner exchange 30 days prior to making the deal. This is because releasing inmates from the Guantanamo Bay detention center can have far ranging impact due to their battlefield prowess and skills in conducting terrorism.
The laws governing prisoner exchanges were only modified last year at the behest of President Obama and the Democrat party who wanted more flexibility to gain the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl who had been in Taliban captivity since 2009.
As turns out, Congress was given an FYI after the deal had been struck. Bolton, who has never been one to mince words, explained that Obama’s eagerness to extricate the nation from Afghanistan is sending the Taliban and Al Qaida a clear message that the he will give in to their demands if it hastens out withdrawal.
Prior to the knowledge of the prisoner exchange, former Vice-President Dick Cheney called Obama the weakest president he has known in his lifetime and that was over the hastily announced early withdrawal from Afghanistan. It remains to be seen what impact those five commanders will have to US forces on the ground who will have to face them on the battlefield once more.