MOSCOW, September 10 (RIA Novosti) – US House of Representatives voted to condemn President Barack Obama for non-execution of the requirement to give 30-day notice to Congress about the exchange of American prisoner Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban commanders, imprisoned in Guantanamo, The Guardian reported.
“It shall be in order to consider in the House a resolution, House Resolution 644, condemning and disapproving the Obama administration’s failure to comply with the lawful statutory requirement to notify Congress”, - Representative Reid Ribble said on Tuesday at the House Debate on Bergdahl.
Under US law, Congress must be notified of any transfer of Guantanamo Bay prisoners at least 30 days in advance. The US administration explained the failure to give notice with concerns about the sergeant’s health and concerns that the details of the swap would be divulged.
The news of the exchange raised security concerns in the US House as House Speaker John Boehner said, after a Republican Conference meeting in June, that freeing the Taliban commanders from US custody made Americans less safe.
In May, US President Barack Obama sanctioned the release of five Taliban commanders from the Guantanamo prison in exchange for US Army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by Islamist fundamentalists in Afghanistan in 2009. In July 2014 US Army officials informed that Bergdahl would continue his duty in the United States.
