Hillary: No ‘second guessing’ on swap

Hillary Clinton on Monday defended President Obama’s decision to swap five Guantanamo Bay prisoners for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl over the weekend.

{mosads}”This young man, whatever the circumstances, was an American citizen — is an American citizen — was serving in our military,” Clinton said at an event she headlined in a Denver suburb, according to the Associated Press. “The idea that you really care for your own citizens and particularly those in uniform, I think is a very noble one.”

Clinton didn’t explicitly say she would have pursued the same exchange, but said she doesn’t believe in “second guessing” people who have to make difficult decisions.

The former secretary of State said she understood the debate over whether it was smart to release top Taliban prisoners in exchange for Bergdahl, but noted that his life was in danger. 

“You don’t want to see these five prisoners go back to combat. There’s a lot that you don’t want to have happen. On the other hand you also don’t want an American citizen, if you can avoid it, especially a solider, to die in captivity,” Clinton said. “I think we have a long way to go before we really know how this is going to play out.”

Clinton, considered the 2016 Democratic presidential frontrunner if she decides to run, is about to embark on a book tour for her memoir Hard Choices about her experience in the Obama administration.

She described the prisoner swap as an example of “hard choices” government officials have to make.

The most important thing now, Clinton said, is to get as much information from Bergdahl about his captivity, noting that he is an asset who can share information about the Taliban. 

Bergdahl was released Saturday night in Afghanistan after the Taliban held him captive for five years. In exchange, five Taliban prisoners were released from Guantanamo Bay and sent to Qatar on Sunday where they must remain for one year.