The deal orchestrated by the Obama Administration to bring Bowe Bergdahl back to the United States is dividing Democrats across the country. Our own Justin Snyder has weighed in with his thoughts.

The reaction is certainly not what the administration expected when it commenced the deal, which was completed with the help of the corrupt, mega-rich corrupt oil sheikdom of Qatar. The Qataris have attempted to play as a moderate reformist state in the Persian Gulf region, maintaining diplomatic ties with terrorist groups as well as the West. Qatar’s royal family also funds the television network Al-Jazeera and the nation has recently been accused of buying the 2022 FIFA World Cup (defeating the United States ironically for this privilege) most recently by the Sunday Times this past week.

The Qatari role as the middlemen, combined with the release of prisoners eventually to a non-state actor in the Taliban rather than the proper Afghan government, has set off alarm bells. It should be noted however that a tilt of the largely corrupt and ineffectual Karzai Government recently towards Moscow has occurred and that the Taliban is poised to take control of the country when the bulk of US ground forces leave Afghanistan. The President and his foreign policy team may be adjusting to a new reality on the ground in Central Asia and quickly pivoting to protect American interests. In the discussion of the Bergdahl matter, this point has been largely lost.

Democrats have been particularly aggressive in the last 24 hours in trying to put some distance between themselves and the administration. 2014 is shaping up to be a big Republican year at the ballot box and many of the party’s leaders here in Florida and nationally have moved strongly away from the President on the VA scandal and this matter.

Elected Democrats throughout the nation seem reactive to public mood swings and the musings of cable news talking heads. On this matter a long-term perspective is required and the short-term outrage could be completely off base. It is also possible that this was a colossal error in judgement by the President and his foreign policy advisers, one which undermines American credibility and security both at home and abroad. But at this point we do not know for sure.

Here is why:

1. It has been stated this trade is without precedent. Of course it is without precedent as the United States has never been at war with a non-state actor on foreign soil without a formal declaration of war since the foundation of the Republic. This has been the condition since 9/11, and we are in a new world, with new rules. I would state our two biggest allies on the planet the UK and Israel long traded prisoners with the IRA and PLO and the way things sit for us now, we ought to be equally pragmatic on these types of matters.
2. Regarding Bergdahl himself being a deserter or a traitor, I would like to see that determination left to the military authorities not to civilian politicians looking towards the next election. My colleague Justin Snyder has brought up some excellent and troubling points regarding this but it must be left to the military to decide whether to or how to punish Bergdahl. Trying this case on FOX News and MSNBC — or on this blog for that matter — is unproductive for the nation.
3. Finally, it is important to consider the President’s meandering foreign policy and how it plays into this. On one hand the President has widened American involvement in an unwinnable conflict by initiating drone strikes against the sovereign nation of Pakistan and expanding the US involvement in Afghanistan, while now doing business with those we were fighting against and largely abandoning the corrupt government we propped up for years . At the same time the relationship between the United States and critical Gulf states has not improved since George W. Bush left office. Perhaps the overture via Qatar changes this equation slightly but in the Middle East and Central Asia the United States’ policies are inconsistent and incoherent. Yet maybe this swap is the beginning of something

President Obama has in some ways maintained the traditional Democratic interventionist foreign policy, but it must be conceded that he has allowed the Russians and Chinese to surpass American influence in some parts of the globe. This is something as a Democrat, I find totally unacceptable as our nation has always been destined to lead and to maintain the global order against the cynical forces the Russian and Chinese represent.

The rush to judgment, though, on the administration’s decision here particularly by Democrats is worrying. From a foreign policy perspective this may represent a pivot which serves our nation well. After all, it is the United States of America not the Democratic Party or any other that matters most.