Graham Requests Hearing on Exchange of Taliban Leaders for Sergeant Bergdahl

WASHINGTON, DC ­– U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today wrote Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin and Ranking Member Jim Inhofe to request an immediate hearing on the exchange of five high-ranking Taliban leaders for the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.

Graham’s letter is below and attached.

Dear Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Inhofe:

I write today requesting an immediate hearing on the exchange of five high-ranking Taliban leaders for the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. While I appreciate an American was released from captivity, this decision by the Obama Administration has serious implications for our future national security.

The five terrorists released were the hardest of the hard-core.  They held positions of great importance within the hard-core anti-American Taliban, including the Chief of Staff of the Taliban Army and the Taliban Deputy Minister of Intelligence.  They have American blood on their hands and surely as night follows day they will return to the fight.  In effect, we released the “Taliban Dream Team.”  The United States is less safe because of these actions.

I fear President Obama’s decision will inevitably lead to more Americans being kidnapped and held hostage throughout the world. 

There are also questions about why the Administration failed to comply with the law.  We need a thorough review of this decision and I urge you to hold a hearing on this matter as it has profound implications for our national security. 

With President Obama’s announcement of a total withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2016 – basically canceling an insurance policy to protect our homeland – and now releasing five Taliban leaders, it’s safe to say last week was a great week for the Taliban. 

Thank you for your consideration on this most important matter.