This makes sense,Obama's plan

[Sangersteve]

The Obama administration passed up multiple opportunities to rescue Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl because the president was dead-set on finding a reason to begin emptying Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a Pentagon official.

'JSOC went to the White House with several specific rescue-op scenarios,' the official with knowledge of interagency negotiations underway since at least November 2013 told MailOnline, referring to the Joint Special Operations Command. 'But no one ever got traction.'

'What we learned along the way was that the president wanted a diplomatic scenario that would establish a precedent for repatriating detainees from Gitmo,' he said.

The official said a State Department liaison described the lay of the land to him in February, shortly after the Taliban sent the U.S. government a month-old video of Bergdahl in January, looking sickly and haggard, in an effort to create a sense of urgency about his health and effect a quick prisoner trade.

'He basically told me that no matter what JSOC put on the table, it was never going to fly because the president isn't going to leave office with Gitmo intact, and this was the best opportunity to see that through.'

LINK

[Bob Of Burleson]

Yep, emptying Guantanamo, I agree.

[Bob Of Burleson]

U.S. Undeterred From Closing Guantanamo

Furor Over Recent Prisoner Exchange Could Hamper
Obama Administration's Plans to Shut Prison

By Jess Bravin
The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—Obama administration officials said Thursday they would press forward with plans to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, dismissing the furor over the Taliban prisoner exchange as an anomaly related to the need to repatriate a captured American soldier, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

"All of the reasons why we need to close Guantanamo remain fully valid," a senior administration official said Thursday, as the Defense Department announced plans for a June 12 hearing to consider clearing a Kuwaiti detainee, Faez Mohammed Ahmed Al-Kandari, who has spent 12 years at the offshoreprison.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's rescue, thanks to a prisoner swap with the Taliban, is causing a political firestorm. From a political standpoint, why did President Obama do it? What could it mean for Democrats, including Hillary Clinton? WSJ's Jason Bellini has #TheShortAnswer.

President Barack Obama pledged to close Guantanamo, located at a U.S. naval base in Cuba, during his first presidential campaign in 2008, and renewed that call last year. He has said Guantanamo symbolizes prisoner abuse, serving as a propaganda tool for extremists and complicating counterterrorism efforts with allies.

The controversy over the Taliban prisoner exchange could further hamper Mr. Obama's plan to close Guantanamo. Congress has for years placed restrictions on his efforts to close the prison. For the Bergdahl exchange, the administration disregarded one of those limits—a statute requiring the administration notify Congress 30 days before transferring detainees.

The decision not to give lawmakers early notice has angered Republicans and Democrats, with some saying they would try to make it harder for the administration to transfer detainees.

MORE

[dublusk]

OK, I am confused! Is keeping the Taliban in captivity the problem, or keeping them in Cuba the problem? Where should we keep them? Or let them all go and let Afghanistan go to the Taliban again?

[GFB]

All of the reasons why we need to close Guantanamo remain fully valid,

Did anyone ever name one?