Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl (28) was handed over to American Special Operation troops inside Afghanistan near the Pakistan border in a tense but uneventful exchange with 18 Taliban officials.
In exchange, the five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo, including two militant commanders said to be linked to operations killing American and allied troops as well as implicated in murdering thousands of Shi'ites in Afghanistan, were flown from Cuba in the custody of officials from Qatar who accompanied them back to the Persian Gulf state.
The five are to remain in Qatar for one year before being allowed to move on.
There are two major schools of thought in the issue which comes at a time when Mr Obama is outlining his plans for the final phase of the withdrawal of US troops from the troubled country.
US officials said Sgt Bergdahl's health and safety appeared in jeopardy, prompting rapid action.
National Security Adviser Susan Rice said had the US waited, and had Sgt Bergdahl died, nobody would have forgiven the US Government.
One quoted official said there were concerns about Sgt Bergdahl's mental and emotional as well as physical health.
Republicans in the US said the deal for Sgt Bergdahl's release could set a troubling precedent. Senator John McCain, himself a former prisoner of war for five years, said the Guantanamo detainees who were exchanged for Sgt Bergdahl were the hardest of the hard core.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry described the swap as against the norms of international law.
The ministry said no state can transfer another country's citizens to a third country and put restriction on their freedom.
Questions persist about the circumstances of Sgt Bergdahl's 2009 capture. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel declined to comment on earlier reports the sergeant walked away from his unit, disillusioned with war. But a former Pentagon official said it was ''incontrovertible'' he walked away from his unit.
Empathy will be felt for the sergeant's parents, Robert and Jani Bergdahl, who have suffered uncertainty over the fate of their son for five years. And the US has a policy of never leaving anyone behind - dead or alive - in a war.
Mr Obama released his plans for the withdrawal of US troops last week but it is dependent on an agreement with the Afghanistan government.
All but 9800 of the present 32,000 US troops will be pulled out by the end of the year.
The 9800 will remain in an advisory, rather than combative, role working with Afghan troops.
Their numbers will be reduced by half by the end of next year and all will be gone by the end of 2016 leaving only an embassy and security office as the American presence in Kabul.
In passing back the mantle of responsibility it assumed through the invasion of Afghanistan, the US hopes the country can govern and protect its citizens itself.
Afghan troops are being taught by the US and prepared for its withdrawal.
But there is huge risk to those who assume roles of authority there.
Afghans will know there will be more bloodshed there in the long days, months and perhaps years ahead, and the US and the West know they are not protected from those who wish to do them harm.
At April 14, there had been 2178 US military deaths in Afghanistan with nearly 20,000 service personnel wounded.
Getting the troops home from Afghanistan is the right move by Mr Obama, who, it should be noted, also promised the closure of the Guantanamo Bay facility when he was first elected.
The problem now for the president is whether the Taliban, or armed insurgents in other global war zones, see the release of Sgt Bergdahl as a sign they, too, can exert pressure on the US, or perhaps other countries with armed forces acting as peace keepers in war-torn areas.
There is a danger the much awaited withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan will be overshadowed by acts of terrorism by groups feeling they already have a solution through kidnapping personnel in exchange for some leniency.
