WASHINGTON — The exchange of five Guantanamo detainees for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has reminded us of three unpleasant facts of life: The United States does negotiate with terrorists; the president will circumvent laws as circumstances require; Republicans and Democrats will be summarily outraged as party affiliations seem to require. We might also add that processes will be “truncated,” as President Barack Obama described the exchange, and these are “hard choices,” as Hillary Clinton put it, cleverly employing the title of her new book. Which is to say, war is tricky and we have no idea what we’re willing to do until the ball is in our court.
Parker: War offers hard, tricky choices