WASHINGTON (AP) - The tough military charges against Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have revived the questions and controversy surrounding President Barack Obama's decision to swap five Taliban detainees to secure his release, as well as the wisdom of the White House fanfare that followed.
Bergdahl, who abandoned his post in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban, was charged Wednesday with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The latter charge as it applies to Bergdahl carries a sentence of life in prison. If convicted on either charge, he could also be dishonorably discharged, reduced in rank and have to forfeit all pay.
Republicans cast the charges as validation of their fierce opposition to Obama's prisoner swap, which the GOP and some Democrats have long criticized as politically motivated and a flagrant violation of U.S. policy against negotiating with terrorists. Lawmakers were also furious that Obama authorized the detainees' release from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without consulting Congress, despite federal law requiring him to do so.
"Today's announcement is the exclamation point on the bad deal the Obama administration cut to free five terrorist killers in its rush to empty the prison at Guantanamo Bay," Rep. Ed Royce of California, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Wednesday.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the charges were sure to "raise doubts in the mind of the average American" about the initial trade for Bergdahl.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, speaking Wednesday on Fox News, defended the swap.
"I think the president's been clear that it's in our national security interest to close Gitmo but this was about bringing home an individual who served his country," Psaki said.
The Taliban released Bergdahl last May, five years after being captured and held by members of the affiliated Haqqani network that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In exchange for his release, Obama swapped five men held at Guantanamo.
The so-called Taliban 5 were sent to Qatar, where they are being monitored by the government and U.S. intelligence agencies. But the terms of the swap only extend for one year, meaning they could be free to return to Afghanistan or elsewhere later this spring.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has said that he received information that one of the five has been in touch with members of the Haqqani network, sparking fears that the freed detainees could seek to rejoin the fight against the U.S.
The White House was well aware of speculation that Bergdahl had deserted his unit and potentially put fellow service members at risk in missions to find him. Still, the president heralded his release in a jubilant Rose Garden ceremony, with Bergdhal's parents by his side. National security adviser Susan Rice also credited Bergdahl for serving his country "with honor and distinction," sparking criticism that the administration was trying to cover up the truth about the sergeant's capture.