The recent recovery of America's only military prisoner captured in Afghanistan is drawing mixed reactions across the country. Relief and joy are expressed by Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's family, friends, neighbors in Idaho and many others. At the same time, some politicians, veterans, media commentators and soldiers who served with Bergdahl say he shouldn't be welcomed home as a hero because he was captured by Taliban fighters after walking away from his base in June 2009. "Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down," says Nathan Bradley Bethea, a member of the same infantry battalion that summer.

Critics also question whether President Obama should have freed five Taliban leaders from a military prison in exchange for the 28-year-old serviceman's release May 31. “It is unsettling that five Taliban prisoners were freed in the process," says an editorial in The New York Times, adding that "Mr. Obama clearly crossed the line [with] his failure to notify Congress in advance, instead of . . . as the exchange was in progress."

The Army has no immediate plans to punish Bergdahl for leaving his post. The sergeant, who was promoted from private while in enemy hands, is being screened for medical and psychological problems at a U.S. military hospital in Germany. "Our first priority is assuring his well-being and his health and getting him reunited with his family," says Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Questions about the 2009 nighttime disappearance "will be dealt with later."

Backer says: "This swap was wise on the merits, given that the end of the Afghan War will trigger a requirement to release all Taliban held at Guantanamo Bay." -- Conor Friedersdorf, writing in The Atlantic

Critic says: "It is hard to see the difference between paying ransom – in money or it the release of prisoners – to a terrorist organization and the deal the United States made for the liberation of Sgt. Berhdahl. . . . In all likelihood, they [released Taliban] will return to lead extremists in activities that will result in more terrorist attacks." -- Vicki Huddleston, a U.S. ambassador under President Bill Clinton

War correspondent says: "The White House clearly erred by pretending that Sgt. Bergdahl was an ordinary prisoner of war and that his return would be cause for unalloyed celebration. It should have brought him home as quietly as possible, with no fanfare." – Alex Berenson, who reported from Afghanistan and Iraq for The New York Times