Posted on 06/03/2014 4:32:26 PM PDT by don-o
WASHINGTON On Saturday, President Obama stood with the parents of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in the White House Rose Garden a voluntary media event to announce the deal that exchanged five Taliban detainees for Bergdahls release.
Days later, that feel-good event stands in contrast to the deals reception, with reports from soldiers he served with that Bergdahl may have been a deserter, and lawmakers demanding to know why the administration did not notify Congress of the deal in advance.
Tommy Vietor, one of Obamas former top aides, said Tuesday the goal of Saturdays event was to get in front of the story and take a moment to reflect on Bergdahls years in Taliban custody before the issue could be politicized.
What they were trying to do was tell the story before it devolved into partisan attacks, said Vietor, Obamas former National Security Council spokesperson. To tell a story about who Bowe is, what hes endured, and what his familys endured.
Saturdays White House event with Bergdahls family was about as high-profile as events get. Networks broke into programming and the White House got the time to make its case. Reporters traveling with the president said Tuesday that the White House didnt expect the immediate criticisms of the Bergdahl swap that began before Obama had left the lectern.
Vietor said administration officials expected the heat to come, but he said the degree of the attacks on Bergdahl and his family before they have had a chance to speak was a surprise.
Im positive everyone knew that it was all going to come out, he said. But whats the alternative? Are we going to preemptively sentence this kid to rot in in a Taliban jail?
(Excerpt) Read more at buzzfeed.com ...
Makes one wonder...
Did Obama know ahead of time that the father so closely resembled and talked like the released terrorists? Not a good event.
Obama does not leave traitors behind, just Ambassadors, Navy Seals, and CIA Patriots.
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