U.S. House Condemns Obama For Releasing ‘Taliban Five’

@AFP
U.S. House Condemns Obama For Releasing ‘Taliban Five’

Washington (AFP) — U.S. lawmakers slammed President Barack Obama Tuesday for failing to notify Congress before releasing five Taliban operatives from Guantanamo in exchange for an American POW.

U.S. officials, fearing for the life and health of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl who had been held captive for five years, swiftly negotiated for his release in a controversial May swap that fueled a major political dust-up in Washington, as critics accused Obama of sidestepping Congress.

The House of Representatives voted 249 to 163 on a non-binding resolution “condemning and disapproving of the Obama administration’s failure” to comply with rules requiring a 30-day notification to Congress before releasing detainees from the U.S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Twenty-two Democrats joined a unanimous Republican side in voting for the resolution, which also noted the potentially severe national security repercussions of the deal that was brokered by Qatar.

“By negotiating with terrorists, the Obama administration encouraged our enemies,” House Speaker John Boehner said shortly after the vote.

“By setting free five top Taliban commanders from U.S. custody, the Obama administration made Americans less safe.”

Bergdahl, the only U.S. soldier captured by the Taliban since the war began in 2001, disappeared when he left his post at a forward operating base in Afghanistan.

AFP Photo/Mladen Antonov

Interested in more world and political news? Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}