Republican lawmakers in Washington have criticized President Barack Obama for releasing five Guantanamo Bay detainees to secure the return of Bowe Bergdahl, an American prisoner of war who had been held captive for five years by the Taliban, NBC News reported. Sen. John McCain of Arizona described the detainees in a statement as “hardened” terrorists, the kind that are likely to return to fighting upon release. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said to ABC: "What does this tell terrorists, that if you capture a U.S. soldier, you can trade that soldier for five terrorists?" Other lawmakers felt the Obama Administration broke the law by not providing a 30-day notice to Congress as required when releasing detainees.
