Taliban Terrorist / American Soldier Swap

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Originally posted by: Chilcoot
This really is an interesting situation.

So let's assume a soldier deserts and is captured on the battlefield by the enemy. Now we're five years on, and the President has credible evidence that the soldier's health is in serious peril. Let's also assume that the enemy is seeking the release of five of its most significant combatants in exchange for the soldier, and that they're held at Gitmo. And let's also assume that a federal statute says that the President must notify Congress at least 30 days before releasing anyone from Gitmo, including these five.

What should the President do? I think the President should secretly inform key Congressional leaders of what's afoot., but not let an opportunity to get our soldier out die simply because of the 30 day rule. That rule seems inconsistent with a President's responsibilities as Comander in Chief; it's unreasonable to expect him or her to prosecute a war while being micromanaged by the Congress like this.

Thoughts?

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Originally posted by: Chilcoot

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Originally posted by: Liondownnow
We should always try to get our Soldiers back,,,we should never swap a thing.

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Trading their prisoners for our prisoners has been done in pretty much every war of significance since, well, the dawn of war. Heck, Gen. George Washington did it during our Revolutionary War, trading captured British troops for captured American troops. Why this new rule now?

It's not like we're going to encourage enemies to take prisoners. They've always had that incentive.

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Originally posted by: DonDiego
“I am ashamed to be an American. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools. I am sorry for everything. The horror that is America is disgusting.”__Private Bergdahl in a June 2009 e-mail to his parents shortly before leaving his post

It seems the acorn really don't fall far from the tree.
__Mr. Robert Bergdahl [Father of the Soldier] in a June 2014 tweet subsequently deleted from his account

"In the name of Allah the most gracious and most merciful”__Robert Bergdahl with The Obama in the Rose Garden, 31 May 2014

DonDiego was mistaken. In his original post of this thread DonDiego feared the United States may have made a poor deal in exchanging 5 high-ranking personnel of theirs for 1 low-ranking soldier of ours. It now looks like the United States traded 5 high-ranking personnel of theirs for 1 low-ranking person of theirs.

DonDiego apologizes for the error.


Oh, . . . and there's this:
"Sgt. Bergdahl wasn’t simply a hostage; he was an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield. He served the United States with honor and distinction ... This is such a joyous day."__ National Security Adviser Susan Rice, 1 June 2014
Susan Rice is the Ron Burgundy of the Obama Administration, . . . put anything in front of her, and she'll read it on TV. If her incompetence was not potentially dangerous, she'd be funny.


n.b. For the record DonDiego favors free speech. He does not publish the above quotes to support censorship of any quotes or thoughts. DonDiego assumes they mean what they say; he disagrees with them. He does not know what the Administration is thinking. He suspects it is not something good.

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Originally posted by: DonDiego

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Originally posted by: forkushV
Meanwhile hoops, your allegation of illegality is untruthful, and I think you should put on your big-boy pants and admit it.

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DonDiego hereby states plainly the violation of Law by The Obama.

The administration is required to give Congress 30 days advance notice of any plans to release a prisoner from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba, per section 1033 of the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act — signed into law by Obama in 2013.

Actually the applicable Law is quite specific on the requirement to notify Congress in the event that The Secretary of defense determines that a transfer of a detainee from Guantanamo iBay is in the national interest of the United States:
"Whenever the Secretary makes a determination under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, not later than 30 days before the transfer of the individual concerned, the following:
(A)A copy of the determination and the waiver concerned.
(B)A statement of the basis for the determination, including—
(i)an explanation why the transfer is in the national security interests of the United States;
(ii)in the case of a waiver of subparagraph (D) or (E) of subsection (b)(1), an explanation why it is not possible to certify that the risks addressed in the paragraph to be waived have been completely eliminated; and
(iii)a classified summary of—
(I)the individual’s record of cooperation while in the custody of or under the effective control of the Department of Defense; and
(II)the agreements and mechanisms in place to provide for continuing cooperation.
(C)A summary of the alternative actions to be taken to address the underlying purpose of, and to mitigate the risks addressed in, the paragraph or subsection to be waived.
(D)The assessment required by subsection (b)(2)."

The documents required by Law were not submitted by the Administration 30 days before the transfer.
So far as DonDiego knows the required documents have not been submitted yet.
Apparently no one in Congress was even notified at all about the transfer of the 5 Taliban jihadis until the day after the transfer was completed, . . . except maybe for Senator Reid of Nevada who claims he was alerted by the White House regarding the prisoner deal, “the day before or the day of. I don’t remember for sure."

DonDiego humbly submits the Law was broken.

n.b. DonDiego urges forkushV not to fret over possible legal action, let alone conviction, of The Obama over this matter. As long as Eric Holder is Attorney General of the United States the President is as safe as if he were The Emperor of the United States. If President Richard Nixon had had an Attorney General as loyal as Mr. Holder and a Congress as feckless as the present one, . . . he'd likely still be President, perhaps as a head kept alive in a nutrient solution in a bottle on the White House mantle, but still in charge.

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Originally posted by: pjstroh

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Originally posted by: DonDiego
“I am ashamed to be an American. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools. I am sorry for everything. The horror that is America is disgusting.”__Private Bergdahl in a June 2009 e-mail to his parents shortly before leaving his post

It seems the acorn really don't fall far from the tree.
__Mr. Robert Bergdahl [Father of the Soldier] in a June 2014 tweet subsequently deleted from his account

"In the name of Allah the most gracious and most merciful”__Robert Bergdahl with The Obama in the Rose Garden, 31 May 2014

DonDiego was mistaken. In his original post of this thread DonDiego feared the United States may have made a poor deal in exchanging 5 high-ranking personnel of theirs for 1 low-ranking soldier of ours. It now looks like the United States traded 5 high-ranking personnel of theirs for 1 low-ranking person of theirs.

DonDiego apologizes for the error.


Oh, . . . and there's this:
"Sgt. Bergdahl wasn’t simply a hostage; he was an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield. He served the United States with honor and distinction ... This is such a joyous day."__ National Security Adviser Susan Rice, 1 June 2014
Susan Rice is the Ron Burgundy of the Obama Administration, . . . put anything in front of her, and she'll read it on TV. If her incompetence was not potentially dangerous, she'd be funny.


n.b. For the record DonDiego favors free speech. He does not publish the above quotes to support censorship of any quotes or thoughts. DonDiego assumes they mean what they say; he disagrees with them. He does not know what the Administration is thinking. He suspects it is not something good.

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Funny...I heard similar quotes recently from a deadbeat cattle rancher in Nevada who even went so far as to threaten violence against US agents ....and he was cheered as a hero by many people on this board. I guess judgement on "hating America" depends on the context from which it comes.

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Originally posted by: chefantwon
The President HAS to notify congress BEFORE hand, that is the law...

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Originally posted by: Boilerman
It was a bad trade and Obama's a liar.

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Originally posted by: pjstroh


Obama's skills at negotiating are a known quantity...and not flattering. It reminds me of when he negotiated with Republicans to kill the public option in the health care bill in exchange for ZERO of their votes.

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