Obama defends prisoner exchange with Taliban

World Today

U.S. President Barrack Obama Thursday took time out from his duties at the G7 Summit to focus on a major domestic story in the U.S.- the release of five Taliban prisoners for one US soldier being held in Pakistan.

“The United States has always had a pretty sacred rule, and that is: we don’t leave our men or women in uniform behind,” Mr. Obama told reporters in Warsaw during the first stop on his four-day European trip.

“We have consulted with Congress for quite some time about the possibility that we might need to execute a prisoner exchange in order to recover Sergeant Bergdahl,” he said. “We saw an opportunity. We were concerned about Sergeant Bergdahl’s health.”

He added, “The process was truncated because we wanted to make sure we did not miss that window.”

He strongly defended the deal, but also came up with yet another reason why Congress wasn’t formally notified. Steve Handelsman has the story.

Obama defends prisoner exchange with Taliban

U.S. President Barrack Obama Thursday took time out from his duties at the G7 Summit to focus on a major domestic story in the U.S.-the release of five Taliban prisoners for one US soldier being held in Pakistan.He strongly defended the deal, but also came up with yet another reason why Congress wasn't formally notified. Steve Handelsman has the story.