Hillary Clinton said that the five Taliban commanders who were exchanged for captured Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl are "not a threat" to Americans.
During an interview with NBC News to promote her memoirs
"Hard Choices," the former first lady said, "These five guys are not a threat to the United States.
"They are a threat to the safety and security of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It's up to those two countries to make the decision once and for all that these [people] are threats to them."
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President Barack Obama has come under fire from Republicans for trading Bergdahl for the five Taliban detainees being held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.
The criticism has been fueled by allegations from Bergdahl’s own platoon mates that he was a deserter.
"I think we may be kind of missing the bigger picture here," Clinton said. "We want to get an American home, whether they fell off the ship because they were drunk or they were pushed or they jumped. We try to rescue everybody."
Clinton, the potential Democratic presidential frontrunner, revealed in her book that she had
been in negotiations for a prisoner exchange with the Taliban while she was secretary of state.