--- title: Sen. Jim Inhofe: Who Will Be Held Accountable for Bergdahl Swap? description: The president has set a dangerous standard. canonical: https://time.com/3759192/senator-inhofe-bergdahl-prisoner-exchange-desertion/ author: TIME article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-25T23:14:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:17:53.190Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Sen. Inhofe: Who Will Be Held Accountable for Bergdahl Swap? og:description: The president has set a dangerous standard. og:url: https://time.com/3759192/senator-inhofe-bergdahl-prisoner-exchange-desertion/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5510028cf62e1ca1/6987854d35ba6fa3aac07bdf/bowe-bergdahl1.jpg?branch=production&width=945&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 945 og:image:height: 532 og:image:alt: bowe-bergdahl og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sen. Inhofe: Who Will Be Held Accountable for Bergdahl Swap? twitter:description: The president has set a dangerous standard. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5510028cf62e1ca1/6987854d35ba6fa3aac07bdf/bowe-bergdahl1.jpg?branch=production&width=945&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sen. Inhofe: Who Will Be Held Accountable for Bergdahl Swap? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Sen. Jim Inhofe](https://time.com/author/sen-jim-inhofe/) ## Sen. Jim Inhofe Mar 25, 2015 11:14 PM UTC  Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl Army by [Sen. Jim Inhofe](https://time.com/author/sen-jim-inhofe/) ## Sen. Jim Inhofe Mar 25, 2015 11:14 PM UTC Our nation has always, and will always, do everything within its power to bring our service men and women home and account for every last one who did not return, no matter the circumstances. Our military men and women know that when they are sent into harm’s way, they will never be left behind. Nonetheless, the military took appropriate action on Wednesday in charging Bergdahl for desertion based on evidence presented. The nation should feel confident in its Uniform Code of Military Justice system as it reviews Bergdahl’s case and makes a determination regarding his accountability. The Uniform Code of Military Justice is critical to ensuring the rights of our service men and women are protected. While Bergdahl will ultimately be held accountable for his actions, who will be held accountable for [breaking the law](http://www.gao.gov/products/B-326013#mt=e-report) regarding the release of prisoners from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? In executing the transfer of five detainees from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Bergdahl, the president violated a law that requires him to notify Congress 30 days before any transfer of terrorists from the detention facility and to explain how the threat posed by the terrorists has been substantially mitigated. His failure to adhere to a law he signed places our nation’s security at great risk for the foreseeable future. The public quickly labeled the freed detainees as the “Taliban Five” or the “Taliban Dream Team.” They were among the most senior and influential terrorists being held at Guantanamo. Multiple reviews by the U.S. military had even found these individuals too dangerous to release. Mullah Salem Khan, a senior Taliban commander in Helmand Province, was quick to praise their release, saying it was like “putting 10,000 Taliban fighters into battle on the side of jihad.” Not even a year later, it has been [reported](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/bowe-bergdahl-released/prisoner-released-bergdahl-exchange-tried-reconnect-taliban-n296416) that some of the Taliban Five have attempted to re-engage with terror networks and jihadists from their location in Qatar. In mid-October, Afghanistan announced it had captured Mohammad Nabi Omari, a jihadist leader of the Haqqani terrorist network and the younger brother of Mohammad Nabi Omari who is one of the Taliban Five. The Taliban was quick to claim that the younger brother had actually been captured leaving Qatar after meeting with his brother. This incident shows the Taliban Five are still well-networked, and jihadists are clearly ready to re-engage with them. The red flag is that the president only agreed for the Taliban Five to be held and monitored in Qatar for one year, a commitment that ends in a few short months. The United States has 9,800 troops serving in harms way in Afghanistan, and roughly 3,000 have returned to Iraq to aid in the fight against the terrorist organization that calls itself the Islamic State, or ISIL. The Taliban Five exchange communicated to the enemy that our troops can be used as bargaining tools. With about 122 detainees left in Guantanamo, dozens of which Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, has identified as too dangerous to release, the president has set a dangerous standard in how he is willing to violate U.S. laws and negotiate with terrorists, as well as advance his goal of closing a facility that has enhanced our national security. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3759192/senator-inhofe-bergdahl-prisoner-exchange-desertion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3759192/senator-inhofe-bergdahl-prisoner-exchange-desertion/"},"headline":"Sen. 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