Here’s what we know so far about the recent prisoner swap with the Taliban that resulted in the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five terrorists from Guantanamo.
• The five who were freed are “the hardest of the hard-core,” according to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
• The president broke the law by authorizing the transfer without consulting with the Congress first.
• The White House says the exchange was part of what one official calls (I am not making this up!) a “broader reconciliation framework” with the Taliban.
What we don’t know yet.
• Was Berghdal captured or did he desert? Emails he sent prior to his “capture” in 2009 surfaced in 2012 in Rolling Stone magazine and indicated he had been considering desertion.
• Now that the Taliban has pulled this one off, how long will it be until they do it again? And make no mistake, they will. It’s just a matter of time.
• The five released terrorists are supposed to spend the next year in Qatar behaving themselves. How many believe that actually will happen?
I have two questions of my own:
• Isn’t it convenient how the VA scandal has disappeared from the front pages?
• Do we feel safer now?
Terence McManus, New Sharon
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