Republicans tell us the five men exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl were rock stars of the Taliban; top dogs who may or may not bring about the end of the United States if given half a chance.
That’s pretty alarming, right? According to John McCain, it’s much worse than that.
During his appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” yesterday, John McCain said the men released by the Obama administration were actually responsible for 9/11.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday called the five Guantanamo detainees released in a prisoner swap for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl “hardcore military jihadists who are responsible for 9/11″ and said he expects them to return to fighting against the U.S. [...]
“I’m sad to tell you I’m afraid they’re going to reenter the fight,” said McCain, who warned that ultimately their return could become even more dangerous because of Obama’s plans to remove all combat troops from Afghanistan.
According to McCain, these men were judged to be “too great a risk” to release and they were “responsible for 9/11.” And yet the Obama administration released them anyway?
Does that make any sense? No, it doesn’t. None of that is actually true.
Furthermore, the five men would have been released at the end of this year anyway as part of our formal exit from Afghanistan. By releasing them now in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the administration got something instead of nothing in return.
I’m old enough to remember when then-presidential candidate John McCain told us that he knew how to find Osama Bin Laden but he couldn’t tell anyone until after he’s elected president.
We know how that turned out.
