Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl and his exchange for five terrorist prisoners from Guantanamo Bay was illegal?
INTRO:
“The Pentagon broke the law when it swapped Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, a prisoner in Afghanistan for five years, for five Taliban leaders, congressional investigators said Thursday. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said the Defense Department failed to notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the exchange – a clear violation of the law – and used $988,400 of a wartime account to make the transfer. The GAO also said the Pentagon’s use of funds that hadn’t been expressly appropriated violated the Antideficiency Act,” NPR reported.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2014
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade and
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The committees met, pursuant to notice, at 2 o'clock p.m.,
in room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ted Poe
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Poe. The subcommittee will come to order. Without
objection all members will have 5 days to submit statements,
questions, and extraneous materials for the record subject to
the length limitation in the rules.
The purpose of this hearing is to hear more about Sergeant
Bowe Bergdahl and his exchange for five terrorist prisoners
from Guantanamo Bay. Let's hope that the Bergdahl negotiators
are not the same ones currently negotiating with Iran over
nuclear weapons.
Be that as it may, releasing five senior Taliban commanders
may put the lives of our senior service members and Americans
around the world at risk. One of the five detainees was a
Deputy Chief of the Taliban's Intelligence Service. One
detainee fought alongside al-Qaeda as a Taliban Military
General. Another was a Senior Commander wanted by the United
Nations for war crimes and worked closely with al-Qaeda and
their affiliates. In fact, he led an attack with al-Qaeda the
day before 9/11. Al-Qaeda called this attack an important part
of the 9/11 total strategy. And still another was a close
confidante of Taliban Leader Mullah Omar.
The terms of the release to Qatar are quite disturbing.
They may help out the Taliban while they are in Qatar, and it's
very likely that all of them will end up fighting alongside the
Taliban in Afghanistan later in the year. That will be about
the time United States forces will be leaving and the Afghans
will be on their own.
It appears that recent law that was signed by the President
was violated in this secret deal. This law, among other things,
requires two things; that the administration must notify
Congress 30 days before releasing Guantanamo Bay detainees.
And, second, the administration has to specifically tell
Congress how releasing each terrorist is in the national
security interest of the United States. The administration did
neither. Plus, it has been the policy of the United States not
to negotiate with terrorists, and this seems to also have been
violated.
The Haqqani Network are the ones who held Sergeant
Bergdahl. It's a designated foreign terrorist organization
according to the United States State Department and has killed
countless Americans and Afghan soldiers. It maintains close
ties with al-Qaeda and it's the most dangerous terrorist group
fighting in Afghanistan.
It doesn't matter that Qatar acted as a go-between the
United States because it did involve negotiating with
terrorists in the Haqqani Network. This raises another concern
close to home in Texas.
One of my constituents, Victor Lovelady, was taken hostage
during the terrorist attack on an Algerian gas facility in
January 2013, an event that many Americans have forgotten. He
was captured after he hid some of his coworkers in a space in
the refinery. The terrorists never found the coworkers and they
eventually escaped alive.
It's been reported that the hostage takers wanted to trade
those three American hostages at the facility, including
Victor, for two convicted terrorists in the United States
custody. Victor's brother, Michael, and his daughter, Erin,
wrote to me recently to say that they were told by our
Government during the attack that the United States does not
negotiate with terrorists. Victor was later killed.
I ask for unanimous consent that the letters be made part
of the record. So ordered.
The Bergdahl release troubled them, and rightly so.
Victor's daughter wrote to me in this letter, ``The question
that continues to come to mind is what makes one American life
more important than another? And if we're going to negotiate
for one, why would we not negotiate for everybody?'' I cannot
answer that question, and I really do not know what the United
States' current policy is on negotiating with terrorists. Maybe
we will find out.
Negotiating with a designated terrorist organization like
we did with the Haqqani Network is unprecedented. Department of
Defense says it will hold Sergeant Bergdahl accountable for his
actions; however, National Security Advisor Susan Rice has said
that Sergeant Bergdahl has served with honor and distinction.
Once again, this hearing will shed more light on that issue.
One of our witnesses today served with Sergeant Bergdahl and he
will discuss Bergdahl's disappearance.
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is on record stating that
he was not aware of any United States soldier who lost their
life in search for Sergeant Bergdahl. The family of one of
those brave Americans who gave his life, Lieutenant Darryn
Andrews, is here today to set the record straight. He earned a
Silver Star for his actions which included protecting his
brothers in arms and taking the brunt of the Taliban rocket-
propelled grenade which ultimately took his life. Darryn left
behind a pregnant wife and a young son at the time of his
death.
So, today we have witnesses who can tell us what else
happened in eastern Afghanistan in 2009, those who have
suffered as a result, and what this so called deal may mean for
Afghanistan and the United States going forward.
I yield back my time, and I will now recognize the ranking
member from California, Mr. Sherman, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Sherman. Thank you. Mr. Andrews. We know that you are
the father of Darryn Andrews, Second Lieutenant who gave his
life for his country. We cannot thank you enough for your
family's sacrifice. We salute Darryn's courage.
I would also like to thank you, Specialist Full for your
service to our country. Mr. Waltz is a Senior National Security
Fellow at the New America Foundation who commanded Special
Forces in eastern Afghanistan. Thank you for your service. And
Dr. Jacobson, thank you for your 20 years of service in the
military, including your deployment to Afghanistan.
First, as to a preliminary issue on Iraq, let me point out
that we do not have forces in Iraq. We do not have a Status of
Forces Agreement with Iraq. It was President Bush that
installed al-Maliki as Prime Minister of Iraq in 2006, and the
misgovernance of Prime Minister Maliki is directly responsible
for the violence taking place in that country today. It should
not be surprising that Maliki refused to enter a Status of
Forces Agreement with the United States under President Obama.
He refused to enter a long-term Status of Forces Agreement with
President Bush, the man who, in effect, allowed him to take
power.
As to releases from Guantanamo, while we're focusing today
on five Guantanamo prisoners being released, President Bush
released over 500 prisoners from Guantanamo. Most of them were
dangerous. Over 100 of them we know are fighting us on the
battlefield and we know where. Most of the others are fighting
against us, as well. We just can't pinpoint where they are
located. And what did we get for the 500 that President Bush
released? Absolutely nothing except thank you notes from their
native countries.
As to Section 1035 D of the National Defense Authorization
Act, the President has filed a report. Members of this
committee can go read it. It is in depth. It is arguably late
as many reports to Congress are.
Keep in mind that we have to construe Section 1035 D so as
to avoid constitutional questions; therefore, it has been and
should be interpreted not to apply in this circumstance,
particularly in a circumstance involving a prisoner exchange.
Keep in mind that the last Republican Attorney General of
the United States, Michael Mirkasey, stated that ``This code
section is unconstitutional to the extent it acts to prevent a
prisoner exchange.''
Now, I would have preferred if President Obama had, indeed,
conferred with leaders of Congress. I'm glad to see he is
conferring with congressional leaders about what to do in Iraq.
America is strongest when our President views Members of
Congress as a source of counsel and input, not persons to be
notified only when the notification is compelled by a
constitutionally valid statute.
And I will point out that Members of Congress, leaders of
Congress can keep a secret. Some 16 congressional leaders knew
that we had ascertained the hiding place of Osama bin Laden,
and that information did not leak.
As to negotiating with terrorists, it's a nice phrase that
we don't do it. The fact is, we do it all the time. The Bush
administration negotiated with every single terrorist regime in
the world. We identified five state sponsors of terrorism, and
the Bush administration negotiated with Cuba, Iran, Sudan,
Syria, and North Korea. The Bush administration paid an al-
Qaeda affiliate a ransom for the release of Martin and Gracia
Burnham. Secretary of State Colin Powell designated the Afghan
Taliban as an organization authorized for legal authorization.
Now, it is said that because we paid a price for the
release of Bergdahl that this put terrorists around the world
on notice of a fact they somehow didn't know before, and that
is that America cares about those who are detained. A walk
through the halls of this building shows the POW flags from the
Vietnam War. Everyone in the world knows that we care about our
detainees. There are resolutions introduced by Republican
members available to anyone on the Internet that show that we
regard the release of Sergeant Bergdahl as an important
national objective.
Bringing our prisoners home is important to America. The
enemy already knows that, and we know it, as well. And I yield
back.
Mr. Poe. The gentleman yields back. For the information of
the committees, we are in a series of votes. The Chair plans to
hear the opening statements of all the members and then come
back for the testimony after the vote.
The Chair now recognizes the ranking member of the Middle
East Subcommittee, chairman. You're not the ranking member,
although----
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. It's good enough. Thank you.
Mr. Poe [continuing]. Mr. Sherman thinks you should be.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you very much.
Mr. Poe. For 5 minutes, thank you.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you. I thank the witnesses for
being with us, especially Mr. Andrews whose son Darryn Deen was
killed in Afghanistan in 2009, and Mr. Full, and Mr. Waltz,
thank you for your service. Mr. Andrews, I cannot imagine what
it would feel like to lose a child in the service of our
nation, but as a stepmother of a U.S. Marine Aviator who served
in Iraq, and a mother-in-law to another Marine Aviator who
served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I know the sleepless
nights and the constant worry that parents face when their
child or loved ones are constantly in harm's way.
Our country owes our brave men and women who have served
and who have earned our gratitude a debt that can never be
repaid, but it must start with being completely forthcoming
with them.
In late 2011, while I was chair of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, the administration gathered the chairmen and
the ranking members of the pertinent national security
committees, as well as congressional leaderships to brief us on
a potential prisoner swap of Taliban terrorists for Sergeant
Bowe Bergdahl. And although the meeting was classified, news
reports from just earlier this month indicate that the
administration had a team of officials from the National
Security Council, Pentagon, State Department, CIA, Director of
National Intelligence present the administration's plan to us.
At the time of the briefing, using all available
information given to me, I was adamantly opposed to the
proposed swap, I said so at the meeting as did many of our
colleagues. My opinion has not changed as more information has
been revealed.
I opposed the swap not because I did not want to bring Bowe
home. It's important to have him home and out of the hands of
the Taliban. I opposed the swap because the proposal would have
resulted in a huge coup for the Taliban, would have benefitted
them, jeopardized the safety and security of our brave men and
women in uniform, and compromised our national security
interest.
With so many of our colleagues expressing our disapproval
of the swap, the administration seemed to have gotten the
message and dropped its exchange plan, or so we thought. Then
earlier this month, I like the rest of my congressional
colleagues and the American public read the news that the
administration had swapped five Taliban commanders for the
Sergeant. Despite his promises to notify Congress, not to
mention its legal authority to do so, the administration kept
the deal secret and acted unilaterally. The deal is precisely
the reason for the legal mandate that Congress be given 30 days
notice because the administration has a proven track record of
overstepping and abusing its authority.
As we've already seen, the Taliban used this to its benefit
using the video tape of the exchange as propaganda, and as a
recruitment video. And it has only emboldened them further. Not
only that, but despite the agreement with the Government of
Qatar, which by the way is only for 1 year, to supervise these
five Taliban high-level operatives, there are no assurances
that they won't be back in the fight in short order and
orchestrating attacks from their lavish new headquarters in
Doha.
The fact that we are placing our hopes in Qatar, a country
that has been full throated in its support for the Muslim
Brotherhood, especially in Egypt where Qatar's support for the
Brotherhood actively worked against our interest in seeing a
Democratic transition there, will likely further or strain our
already damaged ties with our traditional partners in the Gulf.
This may have serious implications for our national
security objectives, especially as it relates to our efforts in
Iran. But this swap is more than just Bowe Bergdahl or the
Taliban, it's about U.S. national security, the safety of our
men and women in uniform, and it's about the administration's
disregard for the law and the contempt it holds for its
obligations to Congress.
The administration's deal to swap five senior Taliban
officials for the Sergeant has far-reaching implications.
Negotiating and ultimately forging a deal with Taliban
terrorists unnecessarily endangers all of the service men and
women who are operating in war zones right now that these five
senior Taliban operatives are likely to rejoin the fight. And
it also inspires the Taliban and other terrorist groups to
conduct abductions of our armed forces personnel, as we have
already seen one Taliban commander admit that the Taliban is
now encouraged by the results of the Bergdahl trade.
Then, of course, there are questions of the legality of the
administration's unilateral decision, and the frustration level
and lack of trust that Congress has with the administration as
a result of this swap. There are many, many unanswered
questions, Mr. Chairman, the administration still needs to
answer, but for today it's important that we have the
opportunity to hear from some of the people and how this
decision has impacted them personally, those who served in
Afghanistan fighting side by side with a fellow soldier, those
service men and women who may have been placed even further in
harm's way as a result of this exchange, and those who lost a
loved one in Afghanistan, they deserve to be heard, and they
deserve the truth.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the time.
Mr. Poe. Thank the gentle lady for yielding back her time.
The Chair recognizes the ranking member of the Middle East
Subcommittee, Mr. Deutch, from Florida for 5 minutes.
Mr. Deutch. Thank you, Chairman Poe and Ranking Member
Sherman.
To our witnesses, thanks for appearing today. Mr. Andrews,
I join with my colleagues in telling you that words will never
be enough to express our gratitude for your son, your family
for making the ultimate sacrifice for this country. I
appreciate your being here today, and will forever be grateful
to Darryn for his courageous service to our nation.
Mr. Full, we're deeply grateful for your honorable service
to this country. And Mr. Waltz, Mr. Jacobson, thank you for
being here and for your years of service.
We all know that there are substantial questions
surrounding the disappearance of Sergeant Bergdahl and the
subsequent decision to exchange the Taliban Five for his
release. It may take months before we know for sure what
transpired in the days and weeks leading up to the
disappearance of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. Was he suffering
from psychological trauma? Was he AWOL? Was he a deserter? The
Army investigation has begun and rest assured answers to these
questions will come to light and the Army will take whatever
action it deems appropriate.
I'm a bit perplexed when some Members of Congress have
already decided the facts of this case. We have a solemn
obligation to leave no American soldier behind. And when the
opportunity to get an American soldier back from the enemy
presents itself, we take it. This country has a long history of
getting American servicemen back through prisoner exchanges
because we promised the men and women, when they signed up
bravely to serve their country, that we would do everything
that we can to protect them and to ensure that they return
home.
Some of my colleagues have apparently concluded now how
Sergeant Bergdahl's status should be treated, how the facts
should be resolved. And that perhaps one concludes that he be
left with the Taliban. So, I would ask what kind of military
court is it, what kind of military court of justice do we have
where Members of Congress play the role of judge and jury, find
someone guilty, and leave it to the Taliban to carry out the
punishment?
We have every right to question why Congress wasn't
consulted and notified of this deal. I believe that was a
mistake, but I would simply caution against prejudging the
facts of this case. What message are we sending our troops if
we don't do everything that we can to retrieve an American
soldier that the Army has officially declared missing and
captured? You can have a debate over whether the price for
Sergeant Bergdahl was too high, and it's an appropriate debate
to have, but we should also be reminded of the 532 Guantanamo
Bay detainees who were transferred before this President came
to office. Where was the outrage then?
There are those who have suggested that the administration
has politicized this deal. I would simply point out that many
members of this Congress who are now saying that they oppose
this deal supported the very idea of a prisoner exchange and
were urging the administration to do more to secure the release
of Sergeant Bergdahl.
Turning back to our witness, Mr. Andrews, there is nothing
that we can say to take away the pain of losing a child, and
I'd like again to offer my sincerest gratitude for Darryn's
honorable service to his country. I thank you, Mr. Full, I
thank you for your service, and all of the witnesses for your
commitment to protecting this nation. I appreciate the
opportunity to hear from all of you today, and I yield back.
Mr. Poe. I appreciate the gentleman yielding back some of
his time.
The Chair will now recognize the individual members for 1
minute of their opening statements. Mr. Chabot from Ohio is
recognized for 1 minute.
Mr. Chabot. Thank you. Like many of my colleagues and most
constituents I talk with, I'm very troubled with the
administration's insistence that the deal made to free five
Taliban leaders in exchange for Sergeant Bergdahl was the best
deal we could get.
The Washington Post reports that among the Taliban Five are
the former Taliban Interior Minister who was known to have
close ties to Osama Bin Laden, a former Taliban Army Chief of
Staff who along with another of the freed Taliban is thought to
have been present when CIA Officer Johnny Spam was killed back
in 2001, and two Taliban operatives who work closely with al-
Qaeda, notably Mohammad Nabi Omari, whose case file says is
``one of the most significant former Taliban leaders detained''
at Guantanamo Bay.
Now, I don't know how many of my colleagues have had the
opportunity to visit our facility in Guantanamo Bay and look
into the eyes of those who were involved in the killing of so
many. I've been there three times. As much as I'd like to think
that they've learned the error of their ways and want nothing
more than to spend a quiet life with their families in Doha,
I'm afraid you'd have to put me down in the skeptical, very
skeptical column. I yield back.
Mr. Poe. The gentleman yields back. The Chair will hear the
testimony or the opening statement of one more member, and then
we'll hear the rest of them after the vote.
Mr. Cicilline from Rhode Island is recognized for 1 minute.
Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank you and
Ranking Members Deutch and Sherman for holding today's hearing.
I want to thank all of the witnesses, especially Mr. Andrews
and Specialist Full for their services and for your willingness
to share your very personal stories with us today. Words can
never adequately provide comfort to you, Mr. Andrews, and to
your family, nor can words convey the deep gratitude of our
entire nation for the service of your son.
It's important that we take time today and in the weeks and
months ahead to diligently, and thoroughly, and dispassionately
examine the details surrounding the exchange of several high-
value prisoners from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay
for the return of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.
We should never lose sight of the long-held American
tradition that we'll do everything possible to secure the
release of an American service member. I'm hopeful that today's
hearing will highlight ways in which the administration and
Congress can work together to protect the safety of our armed
forces and insure the security of our country.
I look forward to hearing from the witnesses and gaining
greater clarity regarding the circumstances surrounding the
exchange of Sergeant Bergdahl.
And, finally, I hope this hearing will serve as a reminder
to all of us that we must stay focused on ending American
involvement in Afghanistan, and insuring the safe return of our
fellow Americans serving there.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. Poe. The gentleman from Rhode Island yields back. The
Chair will be in recess for 15 minutes, and we'll continue with
opening statements, then testimony of our witnesses.
[Recess.]
Mr. Poe. The subcommittee will come to order. The Chair
recognizes the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Kinzinger, for 1
minute.
Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's fun listening
to I think the strategy session across the aisle was hey, what
are going to do? Well, let's blame Bush. It seemed to have
worked for the last 6 years, so it's going to be an interesting
hearing.
I just want to say first off, thank you to the witnesses
for being here. You know, when I went through survival training
I was told your country will never leave you behind. I think
it's very important to note that there was kind of a mutual
understanding that your country will never leave you behind, if
you never leave your country behind. And then, secondly, there
was a mutual understanding that there can be a cost that is too
great to pay. Your country promised to always search for you,
they promised to move Heaven and Earth to come get you, but I
was never in survival training promised that my country would
release some of the five biggest enemies of the United States
and the people that we've tried to bring freedom to in
exchange. So, I'm interested to hear what everybody's thoughts
is on why this happened, and some of the things surrounding
this. I only have a minute, so I want to thank the chairman and
yield back.
Mr. Poe. The gentleman yields back. The Chair recognizes
the gentle lady from Florida, Ms. Frankel, for 1 minute. I know
you ran back.
Ms. Frankel. Catch my breath. Well, thank you, and thank
you, gentlemen for all being here. Mr. Andrews, my heart breaks
for you, and to the gentlemen, I thank you for your service.
I want to give a little different--my own personal
perspective. My own son has served both in Iraq and Afghanistan
as a United States Marine. I'm very proud of that. He is home.
But I will tell you this, when he went off to war I, of course,
like probably most parents not only feared he would not come
home alive, or that he would come home very maimed; but for me,
my biggest worry was that he would be taken as a prisoner of
war, tortured, put in a cage. It was just unimaginable. And
that's why I believe so strongly in the U.S. military principle
that we should leave no man or woman behind. It maintains
confidence, it maintains order.
When we send our young men and women off to war, they
should know we have their backs. We will do everything possible
to bring them home. Thank you, again, for your service and,
sir, for your loss.
Mr. Poe. The Chair thanks the gentlewoman. The Chair
recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Cotton, for 1
minute.
Mr. Cotton. Five years ago today I was a captain in the
United States Army in Laughman Province so I think I will take
the prerogative to speak on behalf of the soldiers who served
in Afghanistan. I find it offensive and insulting that this
administration, up to and including the President, would cite
the principle of leaving no man behind to justify this action.
Every day in Ranger School we recited the Ranger Creed,
that I will never leave a fallen comrade. You know who didn't
leave a fallen comrade, Cody Full, Darryn Andrews, or all of
the soldiers who went after him in the weeks and the months
after his disappearance knowing that he had deserted.
When we made those promises to each other, we didn't
promise that we would exchange five stone-cold Taliban killers
for each other, nor would any soldier want that to happen.
Would we exchange Khalid Sheik Mohammed? Deputy National
Security Advisor Tony Blinken said directly to me that we would
not.
Finally, I want to say something to the anonymous sources
in the President's administration for disparaging the service
of the 2nd Platoon and Blackfoot Company. Show yourself, speak
your own name, have the courage of your convictions. And if you
don't, shut up and stand back and thank these men for their
service.
Mr. Poe. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida,
Mr. DeSantis, for 1 minute.
Mr. DeSantis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'm hearing my colleagues on the other side talking about
oh, don't politicize this, but then blame Bush or whatever. It
seems to me that, you know, the President politicized this when
he had a White House Rose Garden ceremony for Mr. Bergdahl's
parents.
I'm going to ask Mr. Andrews, and I'd like to know whether
any of the people who served honorably and were killed in
action were given the courtesy of a Rose Garden ceremony at the
White House? I think the answer to that is probably no.
The bottom line here is either what the President did
benefitted the security of the United States, or it did not. I
believe it did not, and I think that this was something that
the American people disagree with. And I see that many of my
colleagues on the other side of the aisle are looking to
essentially run interference for the administration by blaming
previous Presidents. That doesn't cut it. Let's deal with this
issue as its own, and I yield back.
Mr. Poe. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia,
Mr. Connolly, for 1 minute.
Mr. Connolly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, Mr. Andrews, my
deepest sympathy to you and your family. That may be your wife
behind you? There aren't any words to express the terrible
sense of loss you must experience. And I've had friends have
similar losses and my heart goes out to you. Thank you for
being here today.
We're here today to examine the decision to exchange
Sergeant Bergdahl, a soldier held in captivity for 5 years, for
five detainees in Guantanamo. Now, it's easy to yield to the
temptation to decide that Mr. Bergdahl did not serve his
country. I would caution my colleagues, this isn't a partisan
affair. This is about somebody's service, and we should
withhold judgment on the quality and nature of that service
until the facts are known. The benefit of the doubt belongs to
Mr. Bergdahl pending that. It is not for Congress in advance to
decide somebody's status before we justify leaving no one
behind. So, I'm interested in this hearing. I'm interested in
the facts, and I plead with my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle this one time to let us resist the temptation of
partisanship. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Poe. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North
Carolina, Mr. Meadows, for 1 minute.
Mr. Meadows. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I recently returned
from Guantanamo, and got to look in the eyes of many of the
detainees that are there. Make no mistake, the ones that we
released, are in no comparison to the 400 or 500 that have been
released prior. These men were a danger to the ones who guarded
them, so dangerous that we can't even identify those who do
guard them for their own protection.
They are not choir boys, but I will assure you they are
singing a song. It is a death march for those men and women who
will come in their way in the future, and the cost in my
opinion was way too high to release the Taliban Five in
exchange for this. And with that, I yield back.
Mr. Poe. The gentleman yields back his time. The Chair
recognizes the gentlemen from Texas, Mr. Weber, for 1 minute.
Mr. Weber. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My colleague is
correct, this is not a partisan affair. This is the Committee
of Foreign Affairs, and that it is, it is a foreign affair. And
the President is charged with negotiating on our behalf,
unfortunately. I hope that we come to the conclusion to implore
this President, Mr. President, stop negotiating on our behalf,
please.
Some would say that in military terms what the President
did, we got one conventional weapon, some would say a dud. They
got five nuclear weapons. Maybe we need to come to the
conclusion to send a letter to the President, please, Mr.
President, stop negotiating for us.
As to the Andrews, as Abraham Lincoln said in a letter to
Mrs. Bixby, ``There's no words that we can express to you but
to generally relate our sincere appreciation for your
sacrifice.''
Thank you very much. I yield back.
Mr. Poe. The gentleman yields back. The Chair recognizes
the gentleman from California, Mr. Rohrabacher, for 1 minute.
Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much. President Obama has
put American military personnel, U.S. diplomatic personnel, and
yes, even American businessmen and tourists at risk by
releasing five terrorist leaders in exchange for a captured
American. We have given terrorists the incentive to capture and
hold hostages more and more.
I would say that what we have to realize is that our
President has just made a decision that will result in our
country and our people being less safe than had he not made
that decision. And, yes, President Bush released 500 Taliban
that had been held in GITMO, but let me note, he did not make a
deal for them. He did a survey to find out if they were the
least threatening of those people who were being held. Had he
done a deal for them, we would be condemning him, as well.
The fact is, this was an exchange, a specific exchange, a
quid pro quo that will do nothing but encourage terrorists
around the world to seek other hostages to make similar deals.
Our President has done a great disservice to those who
defend us, as well as to the people of the United States. He's
put us at risk.
Mr. Poe. The gentleman yields back his time. The Chair
recognizes the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson, for 1
minute.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, Mr. and Mrs.
Andrews, thank you so much for your family's service.
Specialist Full, thank you for your service. It's very personal
to me. My two older sons served in Iraq, my third son served in
Egypt, and my fourth son just returned from his service in
Afghanistan, so I truly have a great appreciation of the
commitment of military families, service members, or veterans.
And the President has disrespected all of them by releasing
five Taliban. The response was mass murder in Pakistan. There
were two attacks on the airport there in Karachi, dozens of
people were murdered. Also, Shiite pilgrims were murdered just
last week. The response is very, very clear.
And, in fact, we found out that one of the Taliban leaders
said how much he appreciated the release, the pardon of one of
the particular Taliban Five who is the equivalent of 10,000
Taliban fighters. This is serious. The President has put the
American people at risk. Thank you for being here.
Mr. Poe. Does any other member wish to be recognized for
opening statement? Seeing none, the Chair will go into the
statements of the witnesses. Without objection, all the
witnesses' prepared statements will be made part of the record.
I ask that each witness please keep your presentation to no
more than 5 minutes. When you see the red light come on that
means stop.
You're welcome to summarize your prepared statements if you
need to. Witnesses are also advised that, as usual, testimony
provided to the subcommittee is subject to the False Statements
Act under 18 USC Section 1001; and, thus, any deliberate
misrepresentation or concealment of material information is
punishable by law.
I'll introduce each of the witnesses, and then we'll allow
them to testify in the order that they are seated. Mr. Andy
Andrews is the father of the fallen Second Lieutenant Darryn
Andrews who was reportedly killed while on mission to look for
Sergeant Bergdahl. He is joined by his wife, Sandra Andrews,
who is seated directly behind him, and she is wearing the dog
tags of her son.
Mr. Andrews, I know your time is limited because you have
to catch a plane to go back to Houston for chemotherapy, and we
appreciate you and your wife making the trip all the way to
Washington, and wish you both a quick recovery.
Specialist Cody Full was a Specialist in Sergeant
Bergdahl's squad at the time he disappeared, and they were
previously roommates together.
Mr. Mike Waltz is the Senior National Security Fellow at
the New America Foundation. Mr. Waltz commanded a Special
Forces Company in eastern Afghanistan at the time Sergeant
Bergdahl was captured. He was previously a Senior Defense
Department Coordinator for Afghanistan and Vice President
Cheney's Counterterrorism Advisor.
And then Dr. Mark Davidson is the Senior Advisor at the
Truman National Security Project, Adjunct Professor at George
Washington University. He previously advised both General
Stanley McChrystal and General David Petraeus, and has served
on the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
We will start with Mr. Andrews. You have 5 minutes, sir.
You will need to turn on the microphone. It's that little
button in front of you.
STATEMENT OF MR. ANDY ANDREWS, FATHER OF DECEASED SECOND
LIEUTENANT, USA, DARRYN ANDREWS
Mr. Andrews. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, ranking members and
members of the subcommittee. I am Andy Andrews, father of
Second Lieutenant Darryn Deen Andrews who was killed in
Afghanistan during the process for searching for Bowe Bergdahl.
Darryn's first tour in Afghanistan was in 2004 as an
enlisted soldier. He developed a medical condition that
required surgery so he was sent to Germany, and then back to
the States. He applied to the Green to Gold program and was
accepted into it. He enrolled in 2006 at Texas State University
in San Marcos, Texas to complete his Master's degree while
enrolled in ROTC.
He was commissioned to Second Lieutenant of the U.S. Army.
He was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, then briefly at Fort
Richardson, Alaska before being sent to Afghanistan in April
2009.
We were able to talk to Darryn by telephone whenever he got
the chance to call. We conversed with him around July 1st or
3rd. His birthday is on the 3rd. He told us they had been out
looking for the last 24 hours for this soldier who had walked
away. I asked if the soldier had been captured while on guard
duty. Darryn said he didn't think so because all of his gear
was found neatly stacked, so he thought the soldier had just
left. The soldier's name was not mentioned, so all we knew was
that a soldier had left.
Darryn could not tell us where he was, or what they were
doing. When we would talk to him in the next few months, we
would occasionally ask if they had found the soldier, and he
would say no, they were still looking. No name or specifics
were ever mentioned.
Darryn was killed on September 4th, 2009 which
coincidentally, was our 41st wedding anniversary. Second
Lieutenant Darryn Deen Andrews distinguished himself by
extraordinary heroism in combat as the Platoon Leader of the
3rd Platoon Blackfoot Company, First Battalion, 501st Infantry
Airborne in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Darryn's
wife and son, his twin brother Jarrett and his family were in
Cameron, Texas to celebrate Daylan's, which is Darryn's son,
second birthday on September 7th. My wife and I had been on the
coast to celebrate our anniversary. We had just pulled into our
driveway and started to unload the truck. Jarrett had come over
and told us that Darryn's wife's neighbor had called to tell
her that the Army was looking for her. This was approximately
15:30 hours. We told him that we would call her and tell her to
be back at the house at 18:30 hours. I unhooked the boat, and
we all went to New Braunfels.
The Army notification team arrived at approximately 19:00
hours. The Sergeant told us that Darryn had been killed on
September 4th, and he would probably still be alive if he had
remained in the truck like most officers would have instead of
getting out of the truck to help get it out of the hole the IED
had made. We were told he had saved soldiers lives when he
spotted enemy combatant fire, an RPG, shoved others out of the
way and alerted other soldiers. Darryn took a direct hit from
the RPG.
When we attended a memorial service for Darryn and other
soldiers killed in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Baker's wife
hosted a luncheon for us. At that luncheon, Captain Silvino
Silvino Sandoval told us exactly how Darryn was killed. He
stated they were on a mission to locate high interest Taliban
and were passing through a village. The road had walls on each
side and room to maneuver was limited. The lead vehicle hit an
IED and was disabled, because of the walls were on each side
around the vehicle was not possible. They got out to assess the
damage. Darryn had Staff Sergeant Zavodny and PFC Martinec with
him. Darryn saw the enemy combatant step from behind the wall
and fire an RPG. Darryn yelled RPG and pushed Zavodny and
Martinec to the ground, and then Darryn took a direct hit from
the RPG. Staff Sergeant Zavodny received some damage to his
ears, and Private Martinec survived the airlift to Germany, but
died a few days later.
On February 12th, 2010, Second Lieutenant Darryn Deen
Andrews was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his heroic
actions. At no time during this was it mentioned that he was
searching for Bergdahl, only searching for a high interest
Taliban.
When Bergdahl was portrayed on television as serving with
honor and distinction by State by Susan Rice. The soldiers who
were there contacted my wife to make sure we knew, we
understood what a hero was, and was not, and Bergdahl's walking
away was a contributing factor in Darryn's death.
I saw the Lieutenant Colonel on the television state, ``If
you want to know what happened ask the enlisted people, don't
ask the officers because the enlisted people can tell you
exactly what happened.'' We received testimony from six
different soldiers, the same testimony that Bergdahl walked
away and was not captured, and that Darryn was killed while
searching for him. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Andrews follows:
----------
Mr. Poe. Thank you, Mr. Andrews. The committee now will
hear from Specialist Full.
STATEMENT OF SPC. CODY FULL, USA, RETIRED (SERVED WITH SGT.
BERGDAHL IN BLACKFOOT COMPANY, SECOND PLATOON)
Mr. Full. Chairman, ranking members and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for allowing me to share my firsthand
account of my experiences serving in Afghanistan.
One of the first things I noticed about Bergdahl when he
arrived in our unit, he was always asking questions. He seemed
focused, he was well read, intelligent, blended in as he needed
to be, always at the right place, right time, right uniform.
In November I got deployed to the National Training Center
to train for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. During this
time, myself, or anybody I've spoken with can't remember
Bergdahl walking off the base and abandoning his team. This
story seems to be repeated over and over again. I have no idea
why. We would have at least heard about that or known it was
happening. It did not happen.
In March 2009, our brigade deployed to Afghanistan but
Bergdahl did not make the deployment with us. He had gotten a
staph infection and would not make it until May 2009.
Soon after arriving in Afghanistan, we were tasked with
building an overview called Observation Post MEST. While there
we were on the front lines digging holes for bunkers, filling
sandbags, driving T posts, hanging wire, all grilling tasks in
themselves in 100 degree weather, go ahead and add your
equipment, it's very tough. We were told we could take some
items of clothing off to keep us from having a heat stroke.
Security was always set in place. Nobody was ever in jeopardy.
This has been used against us saying that we were a band of
outlaws or misfits, not the case. Leaders were reprimanded for
that by somebody higher up. We in the platoon felt that it was
without merit.
After arriving in Afghanistan, it didn't take long for
Bergdahl to start voicing his disagreements with the way our
missions were being led. He didn't understand why we were doing
more humanitarian missions instead of hunting the Taliban. Our
Team Leader and Squad Leader both told Bergdahl that those were
our orders and we will follow them.
Before we went out to OP MEST the day of June 30, 2009,
about a week before we were told this is the last time we would
ever go out to this observation post. During this time,
Bergdahl mailed his items home or to a family friend. He mailed
them back to the States. We didn't know this until after we got
back, after he deserted, and we found that his equipment had
been mailed home.
On the night of June 30th, excuse me, the morning of June
30th, 100 percent accountability was held around 6 a.m.
Everyone was given the proper number of men and equipment
except for 3rd Squad Alpha Team, which was my team, the squad
that Bergdahl was in. Platoon members immediately started
searching the tiny observation post for missing items. We
looked under cots, the latrine, under trucks, everywhere we
could think. Bergdahl was nowhere to be found. In a single man
tent Bergdahl been sleeping in we found his gun, ammo and plate
carrier.
Patrols were immediately kicked out to the surrounding area
to look for Bergdahl. According to some small children we spoke
to they had seen a single American matching Bergdahl's
description crawling low on the ground through the reeds
earlier that day on their way to school. The story was also
confirmed by a cleric and a teacher that saw the same thing.
A few days later we heard from our interpreter that the
American that was walking around in the Afghan village looking
for somebody that spoke English and water also wanted to seek
out the Taliban. That was from the interpreter speaking it
directly to us.
After Bergdahl was found that he walked off, DUSTWAN was
called up that his duty status and whereabouts unknown. Every
asset in Afghanistan was pushed to this effort. After Bergdahl
shipping his items home, local accounts of seeing him crawling
and asking for the Taliban, the false stories he emailed his
father and odd questions all helped us connect the dots later,
but at the time of the unfolding of the events it seemed like
normal off-the-wall jargon common when the infantry is
deployed.
The facts tell me that Bergdahl's desertion was
premeditated. He had a plan and was trying to justify it in his
head. How long he had planned this I do not know, but it is
clear to me that he had a plan and executed it. Countless
people looked for him when he went missing putting their own
lives on the line for his.
Combat is difficult. The only thing you can count on in
combat is the commitment of your fellow Americans. Knowing that
someone you needed to trust deserted you in war and did so of
his own free will is the ultimate betrayal.
Now that Bergdahl is back in the United States an
investigation needs to take place as to why he left us. All the
documents, including the intelligence known on Bergdahl now
need to come to the public view. Americans need to also see the
original investigation on Bergdahl's desertion. You should not
be able to desert your fellow Americans without consequences.
Bowe Bergdahl should not be characterized as having served with
honor and distinction. Any armed service member who violates
UCMJ is punished. Bergdahl should not be an exception. If
Bergdahl hadn't deserted us, he would never been held in
captivity.
In my opinion, Bowe Bergdahl needs to be charged with
desertion, missing movement, disrespect for a superior
commissioned officer, insubordinate conduct toward non-
commissioned officer, failure to obey order or regulation,
misbehavior before the enemy, and misconduct as prisoner. Thank
you.