TNHarley
Diamond Member
- Sep 27, 2012
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GOP report: Administration misled Congress on Bergdahl swap
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are claiming in a new report that the Obama administration misled Congress about the effort to release five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the militant group for nearly five years.
Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee released a 98-page report Wednesday on its inquiry into the case of the so-called Taliban Five after lawmakers expressed outrage that the Obama administration did not give Congress a 30-day notice about transferring the detainees to Qatar, as required by law. The report also provided behind-the-scenes details about the Defense Department's work with the Qataris, who played the middleman in negotiating the swap with the Taliban.
The five Taliban leaders, held at the military prison in Cuba, were informed that they were being released two days before the administration told Congress, the report said. They were put on a plane bound for Doha, Qatar on May 31, 2014, less than three hours after Bergdahl was released into U.S. custody.
"Some of the Taliban Five have engaged in threatening activities since being transferred to Qatar," the report said. "Regrettably, this outcome is a consequence of a poorly managed process undertaken contrary to a law specifically intended to minimize the risk posed by detainee transfers."
The Democratic members of the committee said the report does not offer evidence of how the Defense Department has failed to take sufficient precautions to make sure risks posed by releasing the Taliban Five are mitigated.
Reps. Adam Smith of Washington state and Jackie Speier of California, who wrote the Democrats' eight-page rebuttal, called the report "unbalanced" and "partisan." They said that while they agree that the Defense Department should have told Congress 30 days before the transfer as required by law, the question about the legality of the swap "remains unsettled."
I don't doubt it. Hell, I have a hard time believing anything from them. They could tell me it was 40 degrees outside and even though I KNOW it is, I would still have to go look.. just because they said it.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are claiming in a new report that the Obama administration misled Congress about the effort to release five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the militant group for nearly five years.
Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee released a 98-page report Wednesday on its inquiry into the case of the so-called Taliban Five after lawmakers expressed outrage that the Obama administration did not give Congress a 30-day notice about transferring the detainees to Qatar, as required by law. The report also provided behind-the-scenes details about the Defense Department's work with the Qataris, who played the middleman in negotiating the swap with the Taliban.
The five Taliban leaders, held at the military prison in Cuba, were informed that they were being released two days before the administration told Congress, the report said. They were put on a plane bound for Doha, Qatar on May 31, 2014, less than three hours after Bergdahl was released into U.S. custody.
"Some of the Taliban Five have engaged in threatening activities since being transferred to Qatar," the report said. "Regrettably, this outcome is a consequence of a poorly managed process undertaken contrary to a law specifically intended to minimize the risk posed by detainee transfers."
The Democratic members of the committee said the report does not offer evidence of how the Defense Department has failed to take sufficient precautions to make sure risks posed by releasing the Taliban Five are mitigated.
Reps. Adam Smith of Washington state and Jackie Speier of California, who wrote the Democrats' eight-page rebuttal, called the report "unbalanced" and "partisan." They said that while they agree that the Defense Department should have told Congress 30 days before the transfer as required by law, the question about the legality of the swap "remains unsettled."
I don't doubt it. Hell, I have a hard time believing anything from them. They could tell me it was 40 degrees outside and even though I KNOW it is, I would still have to go look.. just because they said it.
