Wicker Critical of Soldier, Prisoner Exchange

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) — Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker says the Obama Administration miscalculated the response of the American public in the case of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was traded for five Taliban prisoners.

Wicker, a Republican, says last week’s announcement of Bergdahl’s release during a Rose Garden ceremony was a misrepresentation of the case. Military officials, and those who served in Bergdahl’s unit, say he deserted his post in 2009 and was taken captive a short while later by the Taliban.

“There’s something to be said for getting our troops back, but we’ve now set a price, as an American government, give major terrorist governors for one troop and that’s the national market rate now, on the international scene.,” Wicker said during a stop in Tupelo Friday. “We have hostages all over the world , American hostages all over the world, and this sends a real troubling signal.”

President Obama has acknowledged that there is a risk the freed Taliban terrorists will return to the battlefield.