By Jim Acosta, CNN Senior White House Correspondent
Colleville-sur-Mer, FRANCE (CNN) — President Barack Obama’s national security adviser said Friday that her full-throated praise of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was appropriate given the former Taliban prisoner’s willingness to go to war for his country — despite questions about whether or not he deserted his Army colleagues.
Susan Rice, who on Sunday said Bergdahl served the United States with “honor and distinction,” told CNN in an interview that she was speaking about the fact the Idaho native enlisted and went to Afghanistan in the service of his country.
“I realize there has been lots of discussion and controversy around this,” Rice said. “But what I was referring to was the fact that this was a young man who volunteered to serve his country in uniform at a time of war. That, in and of itself, is a very honorable thing.”
The Obama administration has come under fire for the decision to trade five Taliban prisoners previously held at Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl, who was held for nearly five years.
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