State Dept.’s Jen Psaki Maintains: Bowe Bergdahl Swap ‘Absolutely’ Worth It
KELLY: “As folks look at the fact that Bowe Bergdahl’s now being charged, and we have these three of the five Taliban commanders trying to return to terror, they are asking this question: was it worth it?”
PSAKI: “Let me first say, as you know, as a lawyer, this is a military justice issue being handled by the army. This is a step in the process and there are many steps passed here. Was it worth it? Absolutely! We have a commitment to our men and women serving over sea, serving in our military defending our nationals security every day that we’re going to everything to bring them home if we can, and that’s what we did in this case.”
KELLY: “The folks who are critical of this say, yes, we do have a commitment to bringing every man and woman home. However, there were other means of doing it. Your thoughts on that.”
PSAKI: “Well, Megyn, I think there are always a range of decisions and tough decisions the president of the United States always has to make and that’s been the case for decades. It doesn’t reach his desk unless
it’s a tough decision. That was certainly the case here.”
KELLY: “It was a tough decision but was it the right decision? I mean that’s the question. Look at these three of five Taliban guys are trying to return to terror now and they didn’t need to be released from Gitmo.”
PSAKI: ‘This is a commitment that we have made; we’ve long made; we made for decades. We have the ability to track and work with the Qataris. The reason that we know that individuals are reportedly were online and engaging with individuals they shouldn’t be it’s because we track it. It means the system of tracking works.”
KELLY: “What about the fact that the supervision of these five top Taliban commanders over in Qatar is supposed to end in two months. That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
PSAKI: “Well, obviously these plans and agreements are designed and they’ll be discussed and we will do everything we can to ensure that the proper precautions and requirements are in place with the government of Qatar. Two months from now is a long time as it relates to diplomacy.”
...
KELLY: “Do you think he served with honor and distinction? Did Susan Rice have it right?”
PSAKI: “I think that if we look at St. Bergdahl as somebody who served his country as many men and women have, it’s been quite some time since we brought him home and there’s been some time for those in the military justice system to take a look at this case and we will all be the judge of that once that decision is made.”
