Obama said that while Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was being held, he was never forgotten. "We're committed to winding down the war in Afghanistan and we are committed to closing Gitmo (the prison for foreign terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba). But we also made an ironclad commitment to bring our prisoners of war home," Obama said.
"That's who we are as Americans. It's a profound obligation within our military. And today, at least in this instance, it's a promise we've been able to keep," Obama added.
The released soldier's father, Bob Bergdahl, spoke after the president and said that his son was "having trouble speaking English," adding, "The complicated nature of this recovery ... will never really be comprehended."
Obama told the soldier's mother and father that "as a parent I can't imagine the hardship that you guys have gone through."
In the deal to gain the freedom of the last U.S. soldier who was a prisoner in the Afghan war, the United States agreed to release five Taliban detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison into the custody of the government of Qatar.
"The Qatari government has given us assurances that it will put in place measures to protect our national security," Obama said. (