The release of Bergdahl

Exchanging prisoners is commonplace in armed conflicts like the one in Afghanistan. However, the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl could also be seen as successful blackmail that resulted in a soldier being freed in return for the release of high-ranking Taliban members imprisoned in Guantanamo. In reality, this case is not black and white.

It is easy for people to tear their hair out and accuse the White House of weakening the image of the U.S. and endangering the lives of other Americans with this negotiation. But really, on a worldwide level, America’s reputation could not be worse than during the George W. Bush administration, whose actions helped al-Qaida expand regionally.

The past provides perspective. This is especially true when criticism intensifies, mixing valid questioning of executive actions that have international ramifications with election-related political maneuvering that attacks the administration—whether because of Obamacare, health care for veterans or Bergdahl’s release. For the November election, anything goes.

Beyond speculation, what is true is that an opportunity came up to free an American soldier who had been held captive for five years, and President Obama seized it. He acted according to the unspoken agreement that the nation has with its soldiers: rescuing them instead of leaving them to their fate. Obama did the right thing. For sure, many parents of soldiers were relieved.

Now that Bergdahl is free, people can discuss, and it is up to the Pentagon to determine, what happened to the sergeant who ended up in the hands of the Taliban and whether the White House broke the law by not telling Congress beforehand. This fits into the Republicans’ election narrative that the president does not follow the law.

This prisoner swap has worrisome aspects, like the danger that the freed Taliban members can pose. Nevertheless, fulfilling our country’s obligation to rescue its captured soldiers is an important and necessary prerogative for the president as commander in chief, one that Obama used very appropriately.