That U.S. Military officials and the intelligence community believe that one of the detainees may have attempted to return to military activity from his current location in Qatar, reported by CNN, has become a political problem for Hillary Clinton.
A clandestine U.S. program monitoring the released Taliban fighters’ communication uncovered evidence that one of them has “reached out” to try to encourage militant activity, an official told CNN. He is currently classified as being “suspected” of returning to terrorist activities, but some within the administration believe the evidence of his communication is strong enough to classify him as “confirmed” having returned to illegal activities.
But for Clinton, who praised the swap and downplayed the potential security risks of the prisoners’ release, the news could become a political headache as she contemplates a presidential bid.
The Republican National Committee and the GOP opposition research firm America Rising both went after the former secretary of State. While she did push for a tougher deal for the swap, they pointed to her comments during a June Today Show appearance that “these five guys are not a threat to the United States” as evidence she’s out of touch with the national security challenges facing America, and tied her to President Obama on the issue.
“Each passing day, the Obama-Clinton foreign policy continues to unravel,” RNC spokesman Michael Short wrote in an email to reporters.
Republicans believe national security will be a key issue in the upcoming presidential campaign, and see an opening for attack on what they believe has been a flat-footed and hapless foreign policy from Obama. They’ve sought to tie Clinton — who’s the overwhelming front-runner on the Democratic side — to Obama on the issue, and point to her time as secretary of State as evidence she should be held responsible for national security threats that have grown on his watch.