Five Terrorists for One Alleged Deserter? Quite the Trade!

By Mike Scinto

As seen in 

The Weekly Record Herald

and other fine Civitas Media Newspapers

President Obama has topped his own disastrous presidential deeds with this one. Without Congressional notification, against the recommendations of his own military field commanders and in spite of tradition, policy and law, he negotiated with terrorists to make a trade for a soldier who may or may not have been held captive by the Taliban.

The soldier released was Bowe Bergdahl. He’s the troop you may recall who allegedly walked off his post without permission, weapons or personal possessions five years ago. Over the next 90 days money, manpower and soldiers’ lives were expended to find Bergdahl.  Reports now are he asked civilians in the villages he passed through where he could find Taliban leaders.

I was a Military Training Instructor in the United States Air force at the end of the Vietnam War. If a scenario like this had been presented to me by one of my recruits for my evaluation, my response would have been the soldier needs to be court-martialed for AWOL (absent without leave) and/or desertion since this occurred in a war zone. If convicted he needs to be dishonorably discharged and sent to prison for life.  Rather, he was being painted as a hero, planning to come home to ticker tape parades and the warm welcome of his community; and America.

The price tag to get Bergdahl returned was the release of five high ranking terrorists in our custody; released to return to the Taliban and the murdering of Americans. That price was too high even if Bergdahl had been an exemplary solider.

When you negotiate with terrorists you signal that if any group wants to extract anything from the USA, simply take hostages and negotiate. What could, and quite possibly will happen is American soldiers or even civilian tourists, will be taken captive to be used as negotiation leverage. If Obama realizes what a mistake he made (as I’m sure he has by now) it will be too late. If his answer now is that we won’t negotiate with terrorists, the groups will have no reason to keep their hostages alive. The precedent set is a potentially disastrous one.

Of all of the arrogant and destructive Obama policies this ranks highest in my book. His own Vice-President, Joe Biden, said during the 2008 campaign (and he was right) that the office of President was no place for Obama to receive on the job training. And boy was he correct!