Obama Defends Operation To Rescue U.S. Soldier From Taliban

[June 03, 2014]  WARSAW (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday defended his administration's operation to rescue Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl from Taliban captivity, saying the United States was committed to freeing its prisoners of war regardless of how they were captured.

Obama acknowledged that the Taliban fighters who were freed from the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for Bergdahl could engage in efforts that were detrimental to U.S. security again. He said he was confident the United States could go after those individuals if that were the case.

Bergdahl had not met with his family yet and was not being interrogated, Obama said.

(This story was refiled to amend dateline; also adds dropped word 'defended' in lead)

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton; Editing by John Stonestreet)

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.