Hillary Clinton defended President Obama's decision to negotiate the release of American prisoner of war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five Taliban detainees, telling ABC's Diane Sawyer Friday evening, "We bring everybody home."
Sawyer asked Clinton if the exchange of the Guantanamo Bay detainees for Bergdahl was like making "a deal with the devil," to which Clinton replied, "I think this was a very hard choice." She added, "There are competing interests and values. And one of our values is we bring everybody home off the battlefield the best we can. It doesn't matter how they ended up in a prisoner of war situation."
Bergdahl was a hostage of the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2009. His release was announced on May 31, following negotiations mediated by the Qatari government. Obama's move has been divisive. Some of Bergdahl's fellow soldiers and U.S. lawmakers have come out against the negotiations, and calling into question the circumstances that led to Bergdahl's capture.
Sawyer asked Clinton if her support for Obama's decision wavered given the controversy over Bergdahl's capture and release, to which Clinton replied "It doesn’t matter," and "We bring our people home."
ABC aired the segment of the interview with Clinton Friday evening. The full interview is set to air during a one-hour special on Monday, June 9, at 9 p.m. ET.
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