3 Questions The White House Needs To Answer About The Prisoner Exchange

Ever since the Obama Administration announced the prisoner exchange for five top-level detainees at Guantanamo Bay, they have dodged questions and avoided offering a clear explanation to the American people for why they made this move. Media outlets, such as the Washington Post, CNN, and Politico, have all pointed out that the White House has not properly answered questions regarding the release. Nor have they have offered a clear answer as to whether or not they broke U.S. law by failing to notify Congress.

Here are 3 questions about the prisoner exchange:

1. Did the Obama Administration set a new standard of negotiating with terrorists?

Reporters have been asking Obama Administration officials whether or not the United States broke policy and negotiated with terrorists in order to secure Bergdahl’s release. They so far haven’t provided a clear answer. “I wouldn’t put it that way,” National Security Advisor Susan Rice said on Sunday on CNN. But that same day, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said that the negotiation might “present an opening” for future negotiations with the Taliban. Does the United States now have a new standard, intentionally or not, of negotiating with terrorist organizations? It’s a serious question, and the White House’s lack of a clear answer is alarming.

2. Why didn’t the White House notify Congress that it was releasing detainees from Guantanamo?

Current U.S. law requires the White House to give Congress notice 30 days before releasing any detainees from prison at Guantanamo Bay. Congressional leaders were given no such warning or notice, despite the fact that the released detainees were top-level Taliban operatives. “We had participated in a number of briefings some time ago, and there were considerable concerns,” Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, told reporters on Monday. If there were “considerable” concerns, why wasn’t Congress notified until after the detainees were released? “This administration has flouted the law again and again and again,” Rep. Buck McKeon, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said.

3. Are the detainees who Obama released from Guantanamo a national security risk?

The Obama Administration, in exchange for Bergdahl, released five senior Taliban leaders from Guantanamo Bay who are, according to Sen. John McCain, the “hardest of the hard-core” and the “highest high risk” people. Is the Obama Administration confident that these released leaders will not pose a U.S. threat in the future? How can we guarantee that they will not return to terrorist activities?