Deal to free soldier, detainees perilous

Some Americans were happy to see U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl released after five years of captivity under the Taliban. But at what price?

Five high-ranking Islamic terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay were freed in the deal, certain-to-be future players in terror planning or murders of western infidels as well as their own countrymen. Past releases of murderous detainees prove this to be true.

These five men were given asylum in Qatar, but we know how that goes. It is naïve not to realize how terrorists are adept at vanishing into the netherworld to resume their sordid jihad activities.

That will likely translate to future killings of innocent people, whether they be Americans or otherwise.

The conservative magazine, The Weekly Standard, reported in September 2013 that of the 603 detainees released from Guantanamo who had thus far been tracked, at least 100 were confirmed as having returned to engaging in terror or insurgent activities, with another 74 suspected of such. That’s a 29 percent rate of recidivism. That’s also 174 terrorists we had in our grips who are returning to their mission: Murder.

It is mind-boggling.

That’s like letting serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer out of prison in exchange for an innocent prisoner, knowing they will leave another trail of murder victims in their wake. Negotiators don’t consider future victims, because they cannot yet be identified. But the odds are high for future victims.

Yes, we may feel distressed about a soldier held in captivity, but it’s a higher priority to prevent more innocent people from being killed and/or kidnapped.

Now that the Taliban terrorists have achieved their desired result, we can look for more Americans being shuffled off indefinitely to some filthy hiding places in no-man’s land. Or, until Guantanamo is completely cleaned out of terrorists, returned to the world of jihad. The Taliban and al-Qaida will have reassembled their soldiers to kill more Americans.

President Obama violated his oath of office by failing to provide Congress 30 days’ notice before any detainees were released from Guantanamo. The White House cited “unique and exigent circumstances,” which is a convenient catch-all term for bypassing the law. Perhaps this is one executive order too many?

According to Wikipedia, there are only 144 enemy combatants remaining at Guantanamo out of the original 775. That’s one way to solve the problem of closing Guantanamo; create zero detainees.

It also begs the question: Why haven’t these combatants been tried in a military court?

If and when any innocent people, Americans or otherwise, lose their lives — directly or indirectly —to any one of these newly released terrorists in the future, the blood of those victims will be on the hands of those who arranged for this prisoner exchange.

This issue of questioning Bergdahl’s motives and integrity is another matter that must be investigated. But that’s a distraction. Whether he was a loyal soldier or not, this was a perilous deal. The deadly cost remains to be seen.

Every national leader in the history of the free world has repeatedly echoed the edict, “Never negotiate with terrorists.” The reasons are crystal clear. Now that is has been changed, we can only hope.