The agreement to swap POW Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Guantanamo detainees appears to be a "political stunt," and Rep. Mike Rogers said he is going to order a review of the negotiations that led to the exchange.
Rogers, who heads the House Intelligence Committee, said he, along with colleagues in Congress, couldn't understand why the administration of President Barack Obama agreed to the exchange.
"Those of us who tried to look at it and understand what they were thinking by doing this can't figure out why they were doing it. Certainly looks like a political stunt to me," the Michigan Republican told "Fox & Friends" on Monday.
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Rogers said he was calling for a review of the agreement, to begin as early as Monday afternoon, adding that Congress should have been consulted while negotiations were under way.
"It's illegal. They had a 30-day notice under the law to notify Congress about the moving of prisoners. And they have a constitutional and legal statute to keep Congress currently informed," he said.
Rogers suggested that if the White House had "talked to anyone else in a bipartisan way," the response would have been that it wasn't "a good idea to open up and end a chapter in American history where we don't negotiate with terrorists."
It was naïve, Rogers said, to believe the five released Taliban terrorists would not get "re-engaged" in fighting against the United States. He said the agreement should concern American soldiers.
"It's dangerous, And every soldier who's on the ground should be a little upset by this. I know I am," he said.
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