SO HELP US GOD
Obama admits five terror thugs HE SET FREE may strike us again
I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States…
PRESIDENT OBAMA acknowledged Tuesday that his Taliban prisoner swap could blow up in his face — or somewhere else around the globe.
The five hardened terrorists sprung from Guantanamo Bay for suspected deserter Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s return could rejoin the jihad on America, the President conceded in defending his decision.
“Is there a possibility of some of them trying to return to activities that are detrimental to us? Absolutely,” Obama told a news conference in Warsaw.
“That’s been true of all the prisoners that were released from Guantanamo. There’s a certain recidivism rate that takes place.”
A top Middle Eastern official said officials in Qatar would do little to hinder the terrorists.
The unidentified official told Reuters that the Taliban leaders had already moved into a residential compound in the capital, Doha, and could “move around freely” within the nation. The source said the terrorists will not be treated like prisoners and U.S. officials will not be allowed to monitor them.
Mullah Salem Khan, a Taliban commander in Afghanistan, said the men were already bracing for battle. “As soon as they arrived in Qatar, they rejoined the Taliban,” he told The Daily Beast website. “We don’t care about U.S. conditions and obstacles.”
The comments seemed to contradict the President, who promised the U.S. would be “keeping eyes on them.”
Obama dismissed concerns from the Pentagon and intelligence officials about the risks of releasing the five, Time magazine reported.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the President was swayed by two secret videos that showed Bergdahl’s condition deteriorating rapidly — videos that brought Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on board with the swap.
But the decision even came under friendly fire Tuesday, with Democrats joining infuriated Republican critics of the weekend deal.
Elected officials howled that an arrogant White House made the deal without congressional consultation, and a top administration aide apologized for leaving them in the dark.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), head of the House Intelligence Committee, said the White House opened the door for the freed prisoners to kill Americans overseas.
“Four are serious commanders likely to return to the battlefield . . . those individuals are likely to reengage in combat operations against U.S. soldiers,” said Rogers on MSNBC. “That’s unconscionable.”
Sen. John McCain, himself a prisoner of war in Vietnam, called the Taliban five the “hardest and toughest of all” and “wanted war criminals.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the administration broached the idea of a prisoner trade three years ago and was harshly rebuffed.
“There were very strong views, and they were virtually unanimous against the trade,” she said.
She also raised the allegations made by Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers that the search for the G.I. after his June 2009 disappearance from a remote Afghanistan area led to the deaths of six U.S. servicemen.
“I certainly want to know more about whether this man is a deserter or not,” said Feinstein.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) ripped the administration for its failure to consult Congress before sealing the deal — which he said put U.S. diplomats and sol- diers at risk.
“One of their greatest protections — knowing that the United States does not negotiate with terrorists — has been compromised,” he said.
Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.) said he expected various House committees to hold hearings on the move when they return next week from recess.
“There is a lot here that doesn’t add up,” said King.
The deal was sealed Saturday at around 10:30 a.m., and Rogers said word wasn’t passed along to his committee until later in the afternoon.
Feinstein said a deputy national security adviser called her office Monday to apologize for the administration’s failure to notify her as the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee before Saturday’s swap. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff suggested Bergdahl would find a lessthan-hero’s welcome upon his return to the U.S.
An investigation could produce charges of desertion against the Idaho man, said Gen. Martin Dempsey. His former Army colleagues felt that was the right move.
“Bowe Bergdahl needs to be held 100% accountable for all of his irresponsibility and all of his actions,” said Joshua Cornelison, 25, a medic in the platoon with Bergdahl.
“He willfully deserted his post, and he needs to be held accountable for that.”
Nathan Bradley Bethea, who also served in the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, ripped anyone trying to spin Bergdahl’s release as cause for national celebration.
“Wrapping Bergdahl in yellow ribbons and treating him like a war hero is embarrassing political myth-making,” Bethea said Tuesday via Twitter.
“It serves no one. Doing what he did had massive consequences for all of us. He did it voluntarily, and it hurt many people — American and Afghan alike.”
Bethea authored a Monday piece on The Daily Beast blasting Bergdahl as a deserter whose decision led to the deaths of a halfdozen soldiers charged with finding the missing man.
But Bethea also tweeted: “The POW/MIA flag doesn’t say ‘Only the guys I like get to come home.’ It is a positive thing that Bergdahl has been released.”
Obama said he still trusts his decision to free the Islamic extremists.
“I wouldn’t be doing it if I thought it would be contrary to American national se- curity,” Obama said. “This is what happens at the end of wars. That was true for George Washington. That was true for Abraham Lincoln . . . at some point you try to get your folks back.”
The President said he wasn’t concerned with the details of Bergdahl’s capture, just the specifics about his release.
“Whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an American soldier back if he’s held in captivity,” Obama said. “We don’t condition that.”
Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said the President moved swiftly on the deal because of worries about Bergdahl’s safety.
Obama had the constitutional authority to move forward on the deal without Congress, she said.
The freed fighter remained a hero in one place: His hometown of Hailey, Idaho.
“We are planning a big celebration,” said local resident Stephanie O’Neill. “Bowe is back.”