Rand Paul: Trade Democrats Instead of Gitmo Prisoners For American POW
US Sen. Rand Paul has an idea — instead of trading five inmates housed at Guantanamo Bay for American Bowe Bergdahl, President Barack Obama should have traded five Democrats.
The Kentucky Republican and potential 2016 presidential contender threw out the idea on his Twitter account.
“Mr. President, let’s set up a new trade. Instead of 5 Taliban, let’s trade 5 Democrats!” #RPTCon14
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) June 6, 2014
The son of former US Rep. Ron Paul, himself a former candidate for the White House on several different occasions, also made the statement in person, according to Politico, delivering the one liner at the Texas Republican convention.
“‘Mr. President, you love to trade people,’ the Kentucky Republican and likely 2016 contender said to laughs, a reference to the deal made for the return of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. ‘Why don’t we set up a trade? But this time, instead of five Taliban, how about five Democrats? I’m thinking John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi …'”
Politico reports that Rand Paul’s comments on trading Democrats instead of Taliban prisoners at Gitmo took a more serious turn as he explained his comments to the crowd of Texas Republicans.
“I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve been a little bit annoyed with the president,” Paul said. “Releasing five Taliban senior officials is not only against the law, it’s illegal and wrong and he should never have done it.”
Paul’s comments are just the latest protests after the president secured the release earlier this week of Bergdahl in exchange for the five Taliban prisoners, who Politico described as senior Taliban fighters.
Questions have been raised about whether Bregdahl abandoned his post and deserted to the Taliban or was genuinely kidnapped. Former members of his platoon have said soldiers died trying to find him, making the prisoner trade with the Taliban even more perplexing.
The Inquisitr has reported how many members of Congress question the administration’s actions and whether or not they may have broken the law by ordering the trade of the five Taliban for Bergdahl without notifying Congress of his intent to do so. The topic of impeachment has even been floated, though no serious action has moved to that possibility.
The Los Angeles Times said anger at the president has extended to both parties.
“The fury in Congress was bipartisan, with some senior Democrats firing broadsides as the White House sent emissaries to apologize to key lawmakers and to promise better engagement in the future.
‘I think that they expected everybody just to fall in line,’ said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and one of those who received a personal apology from a senior White House aide.”
Politico said when Rand Paul was asked about his comments regarding the Bergdahl trade for Democrats instead of Taliban prisoners, he said it was a joke, except for one person.
“It was a joke. Except for Nancy Pelosi, I was serious about her.”
[Image via Flikr Creative Commons]
