On NBC’s Today Show, Hillary Clinton defended the Obama administration’s prisoner swap for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, arguing that the five Taliban commanders that were released are “not a threat to the United States.”
But this morning, The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. intelligence officials predicted at least two of the prisoners “were likely to assume active roles within the Taliban, while only one of the five released detainees was considered likely to end active participation in the group’s effort.”
Before the U.S. transferred five Afghan Taliban detainees to secure the freedom of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, American intelligence officials predicted that two of the men would return to senior positions with the militant group, according to U.S. officials.
The classified assessment, a consensus of spy agencies compiled during the prisoner-swap deliberations, said two others of the five were likely to assume active roles within the Taliban, while only one of the five released detainees was considered likely to end active participation in the group’s effort to undermine the elected government of Afghanistan.