(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Obama Administration officials went on the defensive on Sunday's US morning shows, after accusations by Republican lawmakers that the prisoner exchange with the Taliban has only further endangered the US.
Speaking to ABC's George Stephanopoulos, National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the US has to do its "utmost" to bring back its service members.
"If for some reason we took a position now in the 21st century, when some of our adversaries may not be traditional state actors, that we would not do our utmost to bring our prisoners of war home, that would break faith with the American people and with the men and women who serve in uniform," she said. "So regardless of who may be holding an American prisoner of war, we must do our best to bring him or her back." Several Republicans have been very critical of Saturday's prisoner swap, particularly as they claim not to have been consulted according to the 30-day notification rule.
However Rice maintained that the Obama Administration "did not have 30 days to wait," as there was "reason to be concerned that this was an urgent and acute situation, that (Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's) life could have been at risk.
"Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl's release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans," said Congressman Howard P. McKeon and Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican heads of the Armed Services Committee, in a statement.
"Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk," they added.
In his discussion with Stephanopoulos, Republican Senator Ted Cruz called the Obama Administration's "deal with terrorists" "disturbing.
"Have we just put a price on other US soldiers? What does this tell terrorists? That if you capture a US soldier, you can trade that soldier for five terrorists we've gone after? I mean, that's a very dangerous precedent," he said.
While Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel lauded Bergdahl's recovery mission for being non-violent and completed according to plan, Cruz insisted that force should have been used instead.
"I do not think the way to deal with terrorists is through releasing other violent terrorists," he said. "It's not the only way. We can go in and use military force as needed to rescue our fallen compatriots." In an interview via video link from Afghanistan, Hagel told the NBC program Meet The Press that the US "didn't negotiate with terrorists," even though the physical handover of Bergdahl to US Special Forces at the Pakistan-Afghan border involved direct communication and planning with his captors.
"We are dealing with terrorism and hostage-taking all the time everywhere," he explained. "I think America's record is pretty clear on going after terrorists, especially those who take hostages, and I don't think what we did in getting our prisoner of war released in any way would somehow encourage terrorists to take our American servicemen prisoner or hostage.
"In war, things are always dangerous, and there are vulnerabilities, as there are around the world," he added.
Hagel again thanked Qatar's leadership for its mediation of the deal.
"The transaction really was done by the Qatar government and the emir's commitment to getting that accomplished," he said. "We facilitated that in different ways, but in the interest of our own intelligence and procedures, I don't want to go much further than that." Bergdahl is currently undergoing health checkups at the US base in Germany.
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