The five Guantanamo detainees released by the Obama administration in exchange for America’s last prisoner of war arrived in Qatar today.
As Brian Ross reported on ABC:
“The terror group is calling their release a major victory. New video posted this morning on an Afghan news website shows the five former detainees arriving in Qatar with no sign they are under any sort of custody or guard.… They received a hero’s welcome.”
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, has asked the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold a hearing on the transfer of five former Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Qatar
“While I appreciate an American was released from captivity, this decision by the Obama Administration has serious implications for our future national security,” Mr. Graham wrote to Sens. Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat, and James Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican.
Just under a year ago, in June 2013, White House press secretary Jay Carney was unequivocal in his response to a reporter’s questions about this very deal, saying, “[W]e would not make any decisions about transfer of any detainees without consulting with Congress and without doing so in accordance with U.S. law.”
Here is the full exchange from the White House transcript [emphasis added]:
Q Jay, going to back to Afghanistan, the Taliban has offered to release Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five members of the Taliban who are currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. Is this something that the administration is considering? Is this something that the President would agree to?
