Obama makes 'no apologies' for Taliban hostage deal

President Barack Obama vehemently refused to apologize Thursday for doing a prisoner trade with the Taliban to free a US soldier, despite a fierce political storm over the deal in Washington.        

Critics, both Republican and Democratic, have asked whether the transfer of five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay for the release of US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was even legal, and question both the price paid and the principle of a swap.        

But Obama, asked about the row raging in Washington at the G7 summit in Brussels was unapologetic, repeating that he had a duty as commander-in-chief to get Bergdahl home.
      
"We have a basic principle, we do not leave anybody wearing the American uniform behind," Obama said, adding that he had acted last week because the health of Bergdahl, held captive for nearly five years was deteriorating.        

"We saw an opportunity and we seized it and I make no apologies for that."                       

The president also defended his decision to announce Bergdahl's release in a televised appearance in the White House Rose Garden with the soldier's parents at his side.        

"This is not a political football -- you had a couple of parents whose kid volunteered to fight in a distant land, who they hadn't seen in five years," Obama said.        

"I make absolutely no apologies for making sure that we get back a young man to his parents and that the American people understand this is somebody's child."       

Some of the president's critics have warned that Obama, already burdened by a series of crises, has sunk deeper into political quicksand by negotiating with the Taliban, keeping...