A Taliban commander involved in the negotiations for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl said the recent deal by the Obama administration makes kidnapping U.S. soldiers much more attractive.
The commander, speaking to Time on the condition of anonymity, said it logistically made sense at this point to try and kidnap soldiers and other high-value targets.
“It’s better to kidnap one person like Bergdahl than kidnapping hundreds of useless people,” he said. “It has encouraged our people. Now everybody will work hard to capture such an important bird.”
The statement reaffirms the fear of those critical of the trade, including Sen. Ted Cruz.
“What does this tell terrorists?” Cruz told ABC’s This Week. “That if you capture a U.S. soldier, you can trade that soldier for five terrorist prisoners?”