President Obama admitted Tuesday that the five terrorists he traded for US Army POW Bowe Bergdahl could “absolutely” take up arms against America again — as reports said the Taliban commanders were roaming free in Qatar and could return to Afghanistan as early as next year.
“Is there the possibility of some of them trying to return to activities that are detrimental to us? Absolutely,” Obama said during a news conference in Poland.
“That’s been true of all the prisoners that were released from Guantánamo. There’s a certain recidivism rate that takes place.”
Obama defended his decision to spring the dangerous detainees, saying the United States has a “pretty sacred rule” to not leave soldiers in enemy hands, and adding about the so-called Gitmo Five: “We will be keeping eyes on them.”
Meanwhile, a senior-level Persian Gulf source told Reuters the freed Islamic extremists and their families had moved into a residential compound in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and “can move around freely within the country.”
“Under the deal, they have to stay in Qatar for a year and then they will be allowed to travel outside the country,” the official said. “They can go back to Afghanistan if they want to.”
The official also said the men will not be treated as prisoners and no US officials will be involved in monitoring their movements in Qatar.
A diplomatic source in the Gulf region told NBC News that the men would be banned from playing any role in the Taliban or speaking to the media while in Qatar, where they reportedly received a hero’s welcome.
In other developments:
• High-ranking military officials said Bergdahl will face investigation and possible punishment over allegations he deserted his Army outpost before being captured in 2009. In a message posted on Facebook, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said, “Like any American, he is innocent until proven guilty. Our Army’s leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred.”
• Military investigators “concluded rather quickly that [Bergdahl] had deserted” after finding a note he left before disappearing from his Army outpost in eastern Afghanistan in June 2009, ABC News reported.
In the note, Bergdahl expressed disillusionment with the Army and being an American, and suggested he wanted to renounce his citizenship and find the Taliban, Fox News reported.
• The White House apologized to key lawmakers for not notifying Congress before freeing the detainees, as required by law. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), ranking members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said administration officials phoned them Monday and called the lack of notice an “oversight.”
Bergdahl, 28, is being treated at an Army hospital in Germany, where he was listed in stable condition and is undergoing “decompression” and “reintegration” therapies, hospital officials said in a statement.
Obama said Bergdahl has yet to be questioned about the circumstances that led to his disappearance and capture by the Taliban — and he may not face interrogation for a long time, ABC News reported.
A senior defense official told ABC that doctors are so worried about Bergdahl’s physical and mental health that they’ve told his family and government officials not to contact him, even to say, “Welcome back.”
The official also said it was still unclear how Bergdahl left his base — possibly by hiding in a vehicle trunk — or how he came into contact with the Taliban.
Former Obama Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a likely 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, offered a measured defense of the prisoner swap, saying she doesn’t second-guess people who make tough choices.
Speaking in Denver to promote her new book, Clinton also called the deal to free Bergdahl part of a “noble” tradition, but cautioned, “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.”