Reports that one of the five Taliban leaders released from Guantánamo Bay in return for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last year attempted to return to the fight proves the trade was a “bad deal,” according to Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).
An ongoing U.S. intelligence effort to track the former detainees’ communications in Qatar, where they were sent for a year, showed that one of the group “reached out” to promote militant activity, U.S. officials told CNN.
{mosads}“I think this was a bad deal,” Ayotte, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said during an interview on Fox News’s “American Newsroom.”
She added that another concern is that, under the terms of the agreement with Qatar, “there are no conditions, and these individuals can return to Afghanistan” after May.
“It’s shocking. I mean, what happens then? Never mind that they’re already attempting to re-engage and obviously making communications to do so,” according to Ayotte.
If the intelligence proves to be true, it will no doubt renew the Capitol Hill debate over whether the exchange was a good idea, and could give fresh ammunition to GOP lawmakers who want to stop President Obama from releasing more detainees from the controversial prison.
Ayotte, along with Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), recently introduced legislation that places new restrictions on such transfers.
She also chided the White House for defending the trade earlier this week, when press secretary Josh Earnest said the Taliban was not a terrorist group.
“He’s missing the point,” Ayotte said. “Let’s not forget why we went to Afghanistan. The Taliban harbored al Qaeda, who attacked our country.”
She said the Taliban is “our enemy. They have killed many of our troops. So, you put five of their top commanders back in this battle. I think the real worry is we don’t want them in a position where they can harm our men and women in uniform again.”