In response to President Obama’s controversial decision to swap five Taliban leaders for one American soldier without any input from the U.S. Congress, Republican Senator Ted Cruz has introduced legislation that would block any further releases or transfers of Guantanamo detainees. According to Cruz, the president cannot be trusted to make any further decisions on prisoner releases until he explains the release of the “Taliban Five.”
Five prisoners were released from Guantanamo Bay at the end of May in exchange for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdal without congressional approval, even as military and intelligence officials had voiced concerns over the move.
The prisoner swap has provoked severe backlash from the American public, as well as from lawmakers, including those within his own party. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein loudly expressed her outrage and accused the president of “totally breaking the law.” The president’s actions were in violation of a law that requires that Congress receive notification at least 30 days prior to the release of any Guantanamo prisoner. Senator Lindsey Graham, member of the Armed Services Committee, warned that any further releases could result in calls for impeachment.
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Senator Cruz does not wish to take any chances, however, and introduced a bill on Friday that would see to it that there will be no further releases.
The bill “will prohibit any funds from being spent on transferring or releasing Guantanamo detainees until either 90 days after submitting a report to Congress that justifies the release of the Taliban 5, or 180 days after this bill is signed into law,” according to a press release from Senator Cruz’s office. The desired report must assess whether Taliban 5 will “reengage in terrorist activities after their transfer, return to Afghanistan, or increase the likelihood that the Taliban or other terrorist organizations will attempt to capture U.S. citizens in order to barter with the U.S.”
Appearing on Fox News’ Hannity earlier this month, Cruz said that his legislation was not simply in response to the Bergdahl controversy, but that he’s heard about another potential prisoner release.
Critics of the president’s decision to release the five prisoners have accused the president of ultimately negotiating with terrorists.
“Americans need to know how the Obama Administration thinks it has made our nation safer by negotiating with terrorists to release these five dangerous terrorist leaders,” Senator Cruz said. “Until President Obama can make his case and convince the American public that this swap was in our national interest, prudence dictates that all further transfers and releases from Guantanamo Bay should be off the table.”
Many have voiced security concerns regarding the release of the prisoners. “With 29 percent of former Guantanamo detainees returning or being suspected of returning, to terrorism, the administration should not release or transfer Guantanamo detainees who could potentially return to the battlefield,” said Senator Kelly Ayotte, who cosponsored the bill. “Our common sense legislation would suspend the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to other countries until Congress can get more answers regarding the recent transfer of the Taliban Five.”
“For this President to release five of the worst al Qaeda affiliates at the same time that terrorists are taking charge in Iraq is a dangerous game I am not willing to play,” said Kansas Senator Pat Roberts, another cosponsor. “I don’t know why the president does not feel the same desire to protect our national security.”
And the controversy has intensified as Bergdahl’s platoon members have accused Bergdahl of desertion and a number of other criminal charges. Cody Full, who served with Bergdahl and has become an outspoken critic of the man for whom the president traded five Taliban leaders, said in a joint hearing of two House Armed Services subcommittees that Bergdahl “intentionally deserted” his unit before his capture.
The Daily Mail added, “In addition to a desertion charge that could theoretically bring the death penalty, Full said Bergdahl should face trial for disrespecting his superior officers, disobeying orders, insubordination and willfully disobeying superior officers.”
Full also stated that Bergdahl should be charged with “misbehavior before the enemy” and “misconduct” as a prisoner.
During his emotional testimony, Full criticized the Obama administration’s decision to negotiate with Taliban terrorists for Bergdahl’s return. “It was always ‘Leave no honorable man behind’,” Full said, “not ‘leave no man behind’.”
Later during questioning, he emphasized that Bergdahl “wasn’t left behind. He left us.”
One wonders, then, why the president would trade such high-level prisoners for a man such as Bergdahl.
There has been a great deal of speculation over the president’s decision to engage in the prisoner swap. According to Thomas Sowell, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, the prisoner swap, not so coincidentally, has served to distract the American people from the veterans’ hospitals scandal that had been monopolizing news stories for weeks prior to the revelation of the Taliban Five release.
President Obama’s approval rating has dropped to 41 percent, according to a new survey by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. The findings show that a majority of Americans disapprove of his handling of foreign policy issues, and that he has lost some support from the Hispanic community.
The survey also shows that Americans actually think his administration is less competent than the Bush White House post-Hurricane Katrina.
Chuck Todd of NBC News stated that the survey spells very bad news for President Obama. “This poll is a disaster for the president,” Todd said. “You look at the presidency here: Lowest job rating, tied for the lowest; lowest on foreign policy. His administration is seen as less competent than the Bush administration, post-Katrina.” “On the issue of do you believe he can still lead? A majority believe no. Essentially the public is saying your presidency is over,” Todd added.
On the specific issue of the Bergdahl swap, a WND/Wenzel poll shows that 54 percent of Americans view Obama’s actions as providing aid to terrorists, a violation of federal law, and therefore an impeachable offense. But despite the overwhelming criticism over the release, President Obama has said that he makes “no apologies” for his choice.
“I make absolutely no apologies for making sure that we get back a young man to his parents, and that the American people understand that this is somebody’s child, and that we don’t condition whether or not we make the effort to try to get them back,” Obama said during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron in Brussels.
