“I don’t view that as having any impact on people who are on the top level of Taliban into Qatar which has a Taliban office,” McCain said. “And they are going to be back in Afghanistan within a year, killing Americans, trying to kill Americans.”‘

The White House held a classified briefing Wednesday evening on the details of the prisoner exchange. When it let out, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member James Inhofe echoed this idea that the administration’s actions are more important than Bergdahl’s military standing. “If Bergdahl had been a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, it would have minimized the atrocity that I feel that was committed by Obama for turning these people loose,” he said. (Time also wonders aloud on its latest cover if Bergdahl was worth the price of five Taliban.)

“There’s too much emphasis on Bergdahl. That is not that important,” Inhofe said. “What is important is what the president did.”