The GOP's Bergdahl backlash has slipped into farce
When you throw Oliver North into the mix, you know you're in trouble
If you were to think of the person least qualified to criticize the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap, it would have to be someone who oversaw an even more controversial prisoner exchange. Throw in an illegal weapons sale, multiple felony charges, and bingo, you've got a guy with basically zero credibility to throw stones on this issue.
Enter Oliver North.
Yes, the former Reagan aide best known for his role in the Iran-Contra affair is miffed about the Bergdahl deal. North exhibited a complete lack of self-awareness Tuesday by baldly insisting, without evidence, that the Obama administration or one of its allies paid a hefty price to grease the deal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Someone paid a ransom," he told Newsmax, estimating that it was probably around $5 million or $6 million.
"And if a ransom was paid, either at our behest or with American tax dollars," he later told Fox News' Sean Hannity, "it means this government is causing to be funded a criminal enterprise that kills Americans."
North even had the gall to boast that he was uniquely qualified to discuss the brouhaha because he knows "a lot about hostage negotiations."
Indeed, he does. North and other Reagan officials orchestrated illegal arms sales to Iran to rescue American prisoners, and then used the proceeds to finance a secret war in Central America. North was convicted of multiple felonies, though an appeals court later reversed the rulings.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
So yes, it's safe to say North knows a thing or two about hostage negotiations.
North's foray into the debate would be merely laughable if it weren't part of the GOP's larger pattern of gleeful political opportunism on the issue.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — himself a former prisoner of war freed in a mass prisoner exchange — called the swap a "mistake." Months earlier, he said he was "inclined to support" such a deal. Other Republican lawmakers who'd previously called for Bergdahl's release have suddenly changed their tune as well. Some even deleted from digital media their praise for the administration's handling of the situation.
Meanwhile, a GOP strategist raced to line up critics of Bergdahl who served with him, an act that smacked of swiftboating. And the National Republican Campaign Committee, perhaps predictably, has already begun using the scuttlebutt to fundraise for the party.
To be sure, there are several legitimate questions that can be asked about the swap. Perhaps most significant is the concern raised by many lawmakers, including some Democrats, that the administration did not properly keep Congress abreast of the negotiations.
But we've seen the GOP go down this path too many times before, seizing on every scandal, manufactured or not, to paint the administration as untrustworthy, lawless, and basically evil. It is the latest #Benghazi for the GOP to flog mindlessly and endlessly in hopes of somehow alchemizing campaign gold from their outrage.
Rather than focusing on whether Bergdahl deserted his troops, or whether the Taliban prisoners handed over were too dangerous to be set free, the GOP has instead focused the bulk of its energy on re-upping the exaggerated portrait of Obama as a reckless, incompetent "emperor" who needs to be impeached.
Trotting out Oliver North of all people to tsk-tsk the administration moved the backlash from over-the-top whinging to outright farce, and revealed for the umpteenth time that there's no bottom the GOP won't scrape.
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Foreigners in Spain facing a 100% tax on homes as the country battles a housing crisis
Under the Radar The goal is to provide 'more housing, better regulation and greater aid,' said Spain's prime minister
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Codeword: January 22, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: January 22, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published