Rush: Obama 'replenishing enemy'

By releasing five high-ranking Taliban terrorists in exchange for the possibly traitorous U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, Obama has succeeded in "replenishing the enemy."

That's from talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh Monday.

Limbaugh returned from a rare week-long absence from the airwaves, and listeners eager to hear his take on Obama's controversial prisoner swap didn't have long to wait.

He explained that the recovery of Bergdahl – a former prisoner of the Taliban who may have defected to enemy forces in Afghanistan – was part of the president's longtime promise to release all the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and close the prison for good.

"What, at the end of the day, happened here?" Limbaugh asked rhetorically. " Obama replenished the enemy."

"The Taliban reaction to this is proof positive," he added, citing the senior member of the Afghan Taliban who told NBC News that the exchange was a "historic moment for us."

"Today, our enemy for the first time officially recognized our status. I can't explain how our people are happy and excited over this unbelievable achievement," the spokesman declared right after Obama's Rose Garden press conference with Bergdahl's mother and his father, who peppered his remarks with Arabic phrases.

With the Bergdahl case, the president, arguably, has just given "aid and comfort" to the enemy, critics have charged. That's a violation of Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution that Obama has sworn to uphold.

Obama, Limbaugh noted, "has never worn the uniform, and disdains people who do."

He and his staffers are "tone deaf," "embarrassing" and "don't understand military culture."

"The point here is to empty Guantanamo," Limbaugh reiterated, an act that amounts to "restocking the enemy with their front-line people" during "a war on terror that is still underway."

"He's been itching to do that," he said.

Closing down "Gitmo" was one of Obama's key promises during his first campaign for president. His failure to keep that promise has soured supporters on the far left.

More importantly, says Rush, "it's costing [the Democrats] money in donations because Gitmo is still open."

He reminded listeners that Obama "tried to pull off this swap in 2009" but the plan was scrapped after word leaked out and "there was outrage, at least on the part of the conservative media, and the plan was dropped."

"Now you know why he didn't notify Congress this time around, even though he is required by law," Limbaugh said.

"He wants to give [the Taliban] power in the Afghan government," he continued.

"This is called appeasement. This is called 'citizen of the world' kind of stuff. This is the 'new' United States where we bring our enemies in and acknowledge them and respect them."

The president, Limbaugh said, "has been itching to find a way" to free the remaining prisoners in Guantanamo "in a way that makes it look like it's something else other than letting terrorists go free."

"So he does it in the form of a prisoner swap."

The truth is, however, that "this was never about Bergdahl," Limbaugh maintained. "It was never about Bergdahl's parents."

"Two things are the takeaway," he concluded. "Closing 'Club Gitmo' and by virtue of this – and I can't emphasize this enough – restocking the enemy with their front-line people."