Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton writes in her new book that opening the door to negotiations with the Taliban would be “hard to swallow” for Americans but the United States was firm in demanding the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl during such discussions about prisoner swaps.
“The Taliban’s top concern seemed to be the fate of its fighters being held at Guantanamo Bay and other prisons,” Mrs. Clinton writes in an excerpt from the book, “Hard Choices,” according to CBS News.
“In every discussion about prisoners, we demanded the release of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been captured in 2009. There would not be any agreement about prisoners without the sergeant coming home.”
“I acknowledged, as I had many times before, that opening the door to negotiations with the Taliban would be hard to swallow for many Americans after so many years of war,” she continued.
Earlier this week at an event in Colorado, Mrs. Clinton supported the recent deal to swap five former Taliban commanders for the freedom of Sgt. Bergdahl, though she said she understood the regrets about the move.
“This young man, whatever the circumstances, was an American citizen — is an American citizen — was serving in our military,” Mrs. Clinton said, according to the AP. “The idea that you really care for your own citizens and particularly those in uniform, I think is a very noble one.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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