The Gitmo for Bergdahl Swap: A Question of Why Now?

According to the President, securing the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been an ongoing process for five years.  That may well be the case.  But, it wasn't until about a year ago that the Taliban floated the idea of swapping five of the most highly valued and dangerous former Taliban leaders -- currently serving time at Gitmo -- in exchange for Bergdahl.  Apparently, the U.S. had resisted the swap until now.

Think about it.  A trade of one U.S. soldier -- one who might have actually been away-without-leave (AWOL) when taken -- in exchange for five of the highest valued Taliban prisoners we had under lock and key.  It doesn't make sense.  There are so many other higher valued "deals" we could have made in exchange for these particular prisoners.  Such as, perhaps helping to kick-start or solidify the peace process in Afghanistan. There has got to be a question as to why such a lopsided deal would have been made; and made at this particular time.

Call me a cynic when it comes to anything that the President does but, I really think the Gitmo5 deal was purely political.  In the past few weeks, Obama has been taking heat over the Veteran's treatment at the VA hospitals and his slowness to act in responding to that situation.  Then, there was the criticism--  by some in his own party and the usually liberal media -- over the tepidness of his speech at the West Point commencement ceremony where, even the cadets gave their Commander-In-Chief very lukewarm applause.  What better way to reverse an apparent "veteran" problem than to suddenly secure the release of one of their own?  This also helps to explain why Congress didn't get their lawfully-binding 30-day notice that prisoners were being transferred out of Gitmo.  That's because Obama needed the release now while the heat was still on over the VA scandal.  And, let's not forget that the President made sure that he could have speech time and a photo-op with Bergdahl's parents, as props, standing at his side.  See how caring he looks!

Of course, this is pure speculation on my part but, I think the timing of this deal stinks like a dead fish in the hot sun.

References:

Bergdahl release arrangement could threaten the safety of Americans, Republicans say: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bergdahl-release-arrangement-could-threaten-the-safety-of-americans-republicans-say/2014/05/31/35e47a2a-e8ff-11e3-afc6-a1dd9407abcf_print.html

Five of the Most Dangerous Taliban Commanders in U.S. Custody Exchanged for American Captive: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/five-most-dangerous-taliban-commanders-us-custody-released-pow-exchange_794017.html

the Taliban floated the idea of exchanging U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/taliban-five-guantanamo_736892.html

U.S. Pays High Price To Free POW Bowe Bergdahl: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/31/us-pays-high-price-for-last-pow-in-afghanistan.html