Are you as surprised as I am by the hullabaloo over Bowe Bergdahl, the American prisoner of war that President Obama is bringing home from Afghanistan?

The president made a deal with the Taliban to get the young man released (AP photo above). It’s the kind of deal warring countries have been making for centuries. You set our guy free and we’ll set your guy free. In this case, the deal was for five Taliban guys in exchange for one American.

So maybe the Commander in Chief isn’t a sharp negotiator?

Or maybe he figured one American is worth five Afghans?

Actually, there were no other American POWs available to add to the deal. Bergdahl was the only one the Taliban had to offer.

There might be some murky history involved. Some of the captured sergeant’s comrades in arms have raised questions about his capture. They claim he walked off the base under his own steam and should be considered a deserter.

I don’t know what to make of these accusations. Remember how some Vietnam vets showed up in the 2004 presidential election to claim John Kerry was really a fraud? Those charges later turned out to be a pack of lies. So I’m thinking that not everybody who once wore an American military uniform can be trusted. Some of them can be persuaded to make up lies to further a political cause.

Anyway, let’s say the accusations are valid. Does that mean America should abandon one of its soldiers because he is suspected of going AWOL? Shouldn’t he be brought home and given a fair trial – as it says in the Constitution?

And, in the meantime, can’t we share his parents’ relief at having him home after five long years?

That’s not how the Republicans see it, though.

The party’s top brass are furious at the president. They even want him impeached.

(Of course they wanted him impeached all along, anyway.)

To them – and their propaganda network – this is a “scandal.” Imagine turning those dangerous Taliban terrorists loose to kill more Americans! Imagine going behind the back of the people’s elected representatives to “negotiate with terrorists.”!

I’m sure they know better. They must realize that this kind of deal had to be secret. Tell those blabbermouths in Congress about it and you can be sure it would be all over the news before you could hang up the phone.

Also, who says the Taliban are terrorists? Al Qaida is the name of the terrorist group. The Taliban is a political power in Afghanistan with which America has been at war for the past 13 years.

To me, there’s nothing to fuss about here.

The real scandal is that Guantanamo Bay wasn’t closed and the prisoners sent home long ago. But that’s another story.

Click for more on the “scandal.”

Click for the swift boat hoax.