President Obama did not "negotiate with terrorists"

This is more about the prisoner swap in Afghanistan.

Critics of the president and this operation are yelling about "negotiating with terrorists."   As Christ Hayes and his guest experts a few nights ago pointed out:  These Guantanamo detainees who were released are not "terrorists."   They were part of the Taliban, not Al Qaeda.   

Now the Taliban did in some places habour Al Kaeda operatives.  They may have done some things to their own people that we find unacceptable, but they themselves did not engage in terrorist acts against us.   Republican Col. Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Gen. Colin Powell when he was Secretary of State, put it this way on Chris' show:   "The Taliban are only fighting us because we're there;  we invaded their country."

No, these five men were being held as "enemy combatants" -- prisoners of war.   The international rules of war mandate that, at the end of a war, the two sides exchange prisoners.    Since we are officially ending our participation in the war in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, we would presumably be returning these men then anyway.  And Bergdahl was the only known American prisoner of war being held by the other side.

Meanwhile, the right wing media/blogger folks are going crazy demonizing Sgt. Bergdahl, some saying we should have just left him there, others suggesting the firing squad.   After five days of this all-out, all-bad news slants from the right, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer said that he would have made the same decision as did President Obama.

The New York Times has a story out that cautions against rushing to judgment before the facts are known.   They looked extensively into the charges that six or more soldiers died in the searches for the missing man.   Their conclusion:   the evidence does not show this.   It was a time of increasing casualties in that area.   Some of those mentioned as being killed in the searches were actually killed in attacks on their base compound, not out on patrol.   Only one of the reports about deaths in those months even mentioned the missing Bergdahl.

It makes news, pulls in viewers to throw all this outraged blame around.   But it's just wrong to convict this young man in the public arena without any evidence or defense.  And, then, even if he did walk off intending to desert -- is that cause for just leaving him to die in captivity?   Doesn't he deserve a chance to present a defense?

Ralph