Obama: I Have No Regrets About Bergdhal Swap Since It Was Chuck Hagel Who Did It

Secretary Hagel, please report to the bus depot. Secretary Hagel to the bus depot.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel – not President Obama – executed the administration’s final call to proceed with the prisoner exchange of five ranking Taliban detainees for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, administration officials told Congress today in a classified briefing today.

“They indicated [it was] Secretary Hagel [who made the final call],” House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon, R-California, told reporters following the briefing Monday evening.

Huh, that's weird because just a few days ago Obama kept using the word "I" when talking about the swap.

“We saw an opportunity and we took it. And I make no apologies for it,” Obama said in the interview. “This is something that I would do again and I will continue to do wherever I have an opportunity, if I have a member of our military who’s in captivity. We’re going to try to get ‘em out.”

Maybe he was quoting Hagel in that interview.

I wonder what could possibly account for the change in the story? Nope, can't think of a thing that would cause Obama to run away from taking credit for this. Not. A. Thing.

The poll shows 43% of Americans say it was wrong for Obama to make the deal, compared with 34% who say it was the right thing to do.

Thirty percent of those surveyed have a strong opinion of Bergdahl, whose decision to leave his post in 2009 and subsequent capture by the Taliban is under investigation by the Army. Of those, half say they were sympathetic, and half say they are angry with Bergdahl.

Oh.

posted by DrewM. at 12:10 PM

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