Five active, trained, seasoned, battle-hardened jihadis traded for a deserter.
Bergdahl in Afghanistan reportedly deserted his unit with the intention of joining the Taliban, and while with them, converted to Islam, declared himself a “mujahid.”
“Bowe Bergdahl Charged With Desertion, Lawyer Says,” by Luis Martinez and Lee Ferran, ABC News, March 25, 2015:
American soldier and former Taliban captive Bowe Bergdahl has been charged with desertion for allegedly walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009, Bergdahl’s attorney told ABC News today.
Bergdahl was freed after five years in Taliban captivity in a controversial deal last year in which the U.S. agreed to release five mid- to high-level Taliban figures from detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
President Obama called it a “good day” when Bergdahl was freed, but critics, including some high-ranking Republicans, loudly denounced the deal, likening it to negotiating with terrorists. Also, lawmakers complained that Congress had not been consulted about the exchange, as they said the law requires….