It has been sparking all over the news; the release of a prisoner of war from Afghanistan named Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Bergdahl’s release has created a lot of controversy in regards to the long-lasting principle that the United States does not negotiate with terrorists. Further anger has also been stirred by the conditional release of five former Taliban members from Guantanamo Bay. Many people, especially soldiers in Bergdahl’s battalion, believe that his capture was pre-meditated; he left his base with no backpack or weapons or anything.

Now, I am not one to bash America for every international decision we make, but this has thrown me overboard. Don’t get me wrong I love the United States’ idea of no soldier left behind but there is a point where one man doesn’t seem worth giving up five leaders of an organization that we have been fighting with for a long time. People, along with myself, are calling him a “deserter” for his actions; rightfully so. I think it is absolutely ridiculous that we would even consider giving back Taliban leaders who could rejoin the army. Not to mention that there are five of them!

Bergdahl’s sudden and seemingly quiet disappearance makes him very suspect as well. Was he possibly an agent for the Taliban? I wouldn’t like to stretch his reputation as an honorable soldier to that of a terrorist but it doesn’t necessarily seem out of the question. Furthermore, Obama says that he has no apologies for the trade of our one soldier. To be honest, Obama’s reaction to the situation is what really made me angry at how costly this decision was. Obama seemed willing to get rid of these five drug/warlords. Who knows what relations between Afghanistan and the United States will be like in the future? Was Obama really trying to be a nice guy? Or was the Taliban testing the waters for an ambush on a particular camp? In any situation we look weak to the Afghani people. They see that we are willing to give up five important men for one sergeant in trade? This is outrageous!

I am interested within the next few days to see how Bergdahl reacts when he comes home to his parents who claim he is a “good soldier.” The media may brush him under the table after a while but almost every major news network will analyze his actions within the next few days and if he really was in cahoots with the Taliban I think we will be able to see in any speech he makes.