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With More Emotion, Obama Defends Soldier Swap Officials Say Disclosure of Prisoner Swap Could Have Endangered Bergdahl
(about 5 hours later)
BRUSSELS — President Obama, pushing back against criticism from across an ocean, strongly defended on Thursday his decision to trade five Taliban fighters to recover Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl regardless of whether the soldier had deserted his unit, framing the choice in terms of helping anxious parents recover a son. BRUSSELS — Defense and intelligence officials told senators at a classified briefing on Wednesday that they kept secret from Congress the pending swap of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners because they feared for his life if the deal became public, a senior administration official said Thursday.
“I write too many letters to folks who, unfortunately, don’t see their children again after fighting a war,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference after an international summit meeting. “I make absolutely no apologies for making sure that we get back a young man to his parents and understand that this is somebody’s child and that we don’t condition whether or not we make the effort to try to get them back.” “The Senators were told, separate and apart from Sgt. Bergdahl’s apparent deterioration in health, that we had both specific and general indications that Sgt. Bergdahl’s recovery — and potentially his life — could be jeopardized if the detainee exchange proceedings were disclosed or derailed,” the official said in a statement.
The defense was the second time during his four-day European trip that Mr. Obama had tried to diminish the dispute over the prisoner swap, this time delivered with more passion, which seemed to betray frustration with criticism over what he considered a clear choice. Although aides have said they anticipated attacks over releasing Taliban figures in exchange for Sergeant Bergdahl, they have been surprised by the intensity of the focus on whether the soldier merited the effort given the circumstances of his capture. Several senators said Thursday that officials in the classified briefing justified the president’s decision to swap Sergeant Bergdahl for the Taliban prisoners by suggesting that quick action was needed to save his life.
In private moments, White House officials have scorned critics of the deal for hypocrisy given that some of the detractors previously supported the concept of a prisoner trade and that questions about Sergeant Bergdahl’s own behavior had long been known publicly. But they recognized that the criticism had gained momentum and so the president tried to refocus attention, not on the soldier but on his parents. Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, said the lawmakers were told that the threat to Sergeant Bergdahl from the Taliban came from “a credible intelligence source.” Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan, also said that it was made clear that “his life was threatened.”
“I think it was important for people to understand that this is not some abstraction,” Mr. Obama said, defending his Rose Garden statement with Sergeant Bergdahl’s parents. “This is not a political football. You have a couple of parents whose kid volunteered to fight in a distant land who they hadn’t seen in five years and weren’t sure whether they’d ever see again. And as commander in chief of the United States armed forces, I am responsible for those kids.” Several lawmakers expressed skepticism that disclosure of the operation to lawmakers would have jeopardized Sergeant Bergdahl’s life, noting that congressional leaders and members of the intelligence committees are often given classified information. Many Republicans said they doubted the threat at all.
“This flies in the face of everything we know about the value of prisoners,” said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and a former prisoner of war. “Threatening to kill him is a very unlikely scenario.”
Traveling in Europe on Thursday, Mr. Obama pushed back against the chorus of criticism from across an ocean, and strongly defended his decision to recover Mr. Bergdahl regardless of whether the soldier had deserted his unit. He framed the choice in terms of helping anxious parents recover a son.
“I write too many letters to folks who, unfortunately, don’t see their children again after fighting a war,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference after an international summit meeting. “I make absolutely no apologies for making sure we get back a young man to his parents.” He added that the American people should “understand this is somebody’s child and that we don’t condition whether or not we make the effort to try to get them back.”
Mr. Obama’s remarks came as Pentagon officials said that Sergeant Bergdahl was continuing to recover at an Army medical facility in Landstuhl, Germany. Col. Steven H. Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters that Sergeant Bergdahl was gaining strength.
“His doctors say his health continues to improve daily,'’ Colonel Warren said. “Sergeant Bergdahl is conversing with medical staff and becoming more engaged in his treatment care plan. He is resting better.”
Colonel Warren told NBC News that Sergeant Bergdahl, who spent five years in Taliban captivity, was being helped by psychologists who were working with him to “regain control of his emotions.” NBC said Colonel Warren declined to say anything else about Sergeant Bergdahl’s treatment.
Mr. Obama’s assertive defense of his decision was the second time in his four-day European trip that he had tried to quell the furor over the prisoner swap. This time he spoke with more passion and showed frustration about criticism over what he considered a clear choice. Although aides have said they anticipated attacks over releasing Taliban detainees held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Sergeant Bergdahl, they have been surprised by the intensity of the focus on whether the soldier merited the effort given the circumstances of his capture.
In private moments, White House officials have scorned critics of the deal for hypocrisy, given that some of the detractors previously supported the concept of a prisoner trade and that questions about Sergeant Bergdahl’s own behavior had long been known publicly. But they recognized that the criticism had gained momentum and so the president tried to refocus attention, not on the soldier but on his parents.
“I think it was important for people to understand this was not some abstraction,” Mr. Obama said, defending his Rose Garden statement with Sergeant Bergdahl’s parents last weekend. “This was not a political football. You had a couple of parents whose kid volunteered to fight in a distant land who they hadn’t seen in five years and they weren’t sure they would ever see again. And as commander in chief of the United States armed forces, I am responsible for those kids.”
Michael D. Shear reported from Washington and Peter Baker from Brussels. Jennifer Steinhauer contributed reporting from Washington.