What's The Deal? 
Saturday evening Barack Obama announced that the United States had secured the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held as a prisoner by the Taliban for five years. In exchange for Bergdahl's freedom, Obama agreed to release five "high-risk" Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The release of an American POW is almost always cause for celebration. But Bergdahl's release set off waves of shock and anger, and raises several serious issues. 

POW Or Deserter? 
One would have to be hard-hearted indeed not to be happy when an American held captive comes home. But there are questions about how Bergdahl became a captive in the first place. 

It has been widely reported that before Bergdahl left his base, he sent an anti-American diatribe to his parents. Here is some of what he wrote: 

"I am sorry for everything here. These people need help, yet what they get is the most conceited country in the world telling them that they are nothing and that they are stupid. … I am ashamed to be an American. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools. … The horror that is America is disgusting."

On June 30, 2009, Bergdahl walked off his post with just a knife, a compass, a camera, a diary and some water. The Army mounted several search and rescue operations trying to locate him. Six soldiers were killed in those operations. 

Sergeant Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl's platoon, told CNN, "Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him." Sergeant Vierkant's outrage is shared by many of his fellow soldiers. 

Obviously Bowe Bergdahl's family is elated. The people of Hailey, Idaho, who have rallied around the Bergdahl family, are thrilled. It is unclear whether the rest of the country will share their joy as more details become known. 

Obama Negotiated With Terrorists 
Putting the mystery and motivation of Bergdahl's disappearance aside, it has been the long-standing policy of the United States not to negotiate with terrorists over the release of hostages or prisoners. To some, that may seem stubborn or lacking in compassion. 

But the policy is well-grounded for an obvious reason: As long as your enemy knows you will not negotiate, they have little incentive to take prisoners. But as one commentator said this morning, "What is rewarded is repeated."

Once you reward terrorists, you may have saved one person, but you have now set a dangerous precedent. You have put a bounty on every other soldier in uniform. 

What Did We Give Up? 
Senator John McCain, who spent years as a POW in Vietnam's infamous "Hanoi Hilton," referred to the terrorists released from GITMO as "the hardest of the hard core. These are the highest high-risk people." 

This is not the first time the Obama Administration has negotiated for the release of the Taliban 5, as they are known. But when news of previous talks leaked, administration officials were summoned to Capitol Hill to explain themselves. CNN reports that "Two years ago, then Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told Congress all five had been assessed as both too dangerous to release and too difficult to put on trial."

So, who are the Taliban 5 that Obama just released? They are: Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Mohammed Nabi Omari.

Fazl was a top Taliban general and is considered a war criminal by the United Nations, wanted for the murder of thousands of Afghan Shiites. One Taliban leader called Fazl's release "the best news I have heard in at least 12 years. His return is like pouring 10,000 Taliban fighters into the battle on the side of jihad. … His freedom will definitely inspire the whole Taliban movement." 

Noori, also a Taliban general, was personally recruited by Osama bin Laden. He is also wanted by the U.N. for war crimes.

Wasiq was a former intelligence minister for the Taliban and directed much of Al Qaeda's pre-9/11 intelligence training. After the 9/11 attacks, he was instrumental in organizing tribal opposition against the U.S. invasion.

Khairkhwa was the former Taliban governor of Herat and heavily involved in heroin trafficking for Al Qaeda. He was also instrumental in convincing the Iranians, despite their Shiite/Sunni differences, to aid the Taliban's terrorist attacks against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. 

Omari was a top Taliban commander who coordinated Al Qaeda attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan. 

Under the terms of the deal, they will supposedly spend one year in custody in Qatar. But at least a quarter of all GITMO detainees, including those deemed "low-risk," have gone back to the battlefield. These thugs are top leaders. The odds are overwhelming that we will see their handiwork once again. 

Was The Deal Legal? 
The prisoner swap not only violates the long-standing policy of not negotiating with terrorists, it also violates the law. Few things have united Democrats and Republicans in Congress like Obama's oft-repeated desire to close GITMO and transfer the jihadists to U.S. prisons and civilian courts. In 2009, the Senate voted 90-to-6 against Obama's plan to shut GITMO.

Last year the law was changed to give the administration more leeway, but it still required 30 days congressional notification of any plans to transfer GITMO detainees. 

The Obama White House doesn't deny it broke the law. But it disputes the notification requirement's legality pointing to a signing statement Obama attached to the legislation, something Obama repeatedly criticized George W. Bush for doing. 

In addition, administration officials told the Washington Post that "unique and exigent circumstances" -- fears of Bergdahl's declining health -- justified "such a transfer … notwithstanding the notice requirement." More cynical voices are noting how it shoved the VA scandal off the front pages. 

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