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# Bergdahl's Release Sparks Political Fallout

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BBwMzOBN.m3u8" -->
## Video: Bergdahl's Release Sparks Political Fallout

[Watch (HLS stream): Bergdahl's Release Sparks Political Fallout](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BBwMzOBN.m3u8) (1:34)

![Bergdahl's Release Sparks Political Fallout](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/BBwMzOBN/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2014-06-02. The US government faces questions and criticism regarding the circumstances of Bergdahl's release._


---

Jul 27, 2023 4:44 PM UTC

---

## More From This Series

[All Videos](https://time.com/video/)

[Rice: Bergdahl's side of story matters](/video/TxfdvgKM/)

### Rice: Bergdahl's side of story matters

[Qatar's Mysterious Role in Bergdahl's Release](/video/bDGQvnh8/)

### Qatar's Mysterious Role in Bergdahl's Release

[Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's Parents Speak About His Return](/video/ijsCQhO4/)

### Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's Parents Speak About His Return

---


## Transcript

It's a good day. Yes, it's a good day. [ LAUGH ]. A day after the President's emotional celebration with Bowe Bergdahl's parents in the Rose Garden, tough questions for his National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, on CNN's State of the Union with Candy Crowley. Point blank, did the U. S. negotiate with terrorists for his release? Candy, what we did was ensure that, as always, United States doesn't leave a man or a woman on the battlefield. Rice said what she called the acute urgency of Bergdahl's failing health justified not telling Congress 30 days beforehand, as the law requires. So there, there was a conscious decision to break the law, as you know it, dealing with the detainees and the release of them.

Candy, no. The Department of Defense consulted with the Department of Justice, and it is our view that it was appropriate and necessary to do this in order to bring Sergeant Bergdahl back safely. And Rice said Qatar's Emir had assured President Obama the five Taliban Guantanamo detainees swapped for Bergdahl would not pose a significant risk. There are restrictions on their movement and behavior. I'm not at liberty to get into detail about the precise nature of those restrictions. Republican Mike Rogers, the House Intelligence Chairman, countered that there's now a price on American soldiers' heads.

So, we have a changing footprint in Afghanistan which would put our soldiers at risk for this notion that if I can get one, I can get five Taliban released. But Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel, insisted this was about saving a soldier's life. We didn't negotiate with terrorists. Sergeant Bergdahl is a prisoner of war.

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