The military reaction to Bergdahl is not charitable
The Army Times seems surprised that the online military community isn’t being as welcoming to the news of Bowe Bergdahl’s release from the Haqqani Network as the rest of the country;
Within an hour of the announcement that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces by the Taliban Saturday evening, Army Times’ Facebook page lit up with hundreds of comments reacting to the news.
Most centered on the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl’s capture, which remain something of a mystery. There has been some speculation that he willingly walked away from his unit, raising the question of whether he could be charged with being absent without leave (AWOL) or desertion.
Since Bergdahl was “captured” or whatever happened, I took the position that we should all shut up about the speculation of the circumstances involving his capture. I heard rumors early in the news of his capture, but I always figured that if he had value to whoever who was holding him, he’d be kept alive – and no matter what he did, he probably didn’t deserve to be beheaded for it.
But, that’s all changed now that he’s in US hands and no longer in danger. I’ve been reading all of the reports on the internet from folks who claimed to serve with Bergdahl and I’ve read the lists of names of troops who lost their lives searching for him. But, I’m in the business of doubting everything I read that is related to the military on the internet. So, I’ll wait for the trial and/or the inquiry. You know there will have to be a 15-6 investigation (for an Article 32 hearing – a military grand jury).
I suspect that Bergdahl is a stank-ass hippie who accidentally joined the Army and decided to smell some Afghan flowers one night. I have no doubts that he thought that the Taliban or Haqqani Network would welcome him open arms, you know because of his inherent stank-ass hippie naivete. I have no doubts that he tried to escape from them at some point because, he escaped from the Army when things weren’t what he thought they’d be.
I also think that Shinseki resigned, along with Jay Carney yesterday because they knew the news would be swallowed up by the news that Bergdahl was released – I’m sure the news on tomorrow’s Sunday shows will be about the release of Bergdahl and how the President pulled off this great victory, and it will all be an attempt to cover up the scandals which are legion. By Monday, there will be no scandal about the VA – because Shinseki resigned and because “Bergdahl!”
And, oh, yeah, Bergdahl will be treated as a hero instead of the little coward deserter that he is. If he makes it to a court martial, he’ll get slapped on the wrist, get an honorable discharge and go on his merry way to co-write a book.
Category: Terror War
Well said Jonn.
I definitely want to reserve judgment until more facts come out, but what I’ve heard from people with enough credibility to know isn’t good.
So much for reserving judgement. Lmao. Not saying you’re wrong or right… 😉
Well, since he probably won’t be beheaded now, I don’t have to reserve judgement any longer.
Ok. I read the “reserving judgement” comment before the article and jumbled tw two. Sorry. Lol.
Sweet Baby Jesus!
I’m confused, (I know, no surprise), but, whatever happened to “The USA does NOT negotiate with Terrorists?”
Did I miss something here? I am being serious..I really don’t know.
Seriously.. the only thing that you missed is these policies are as malleable as the people who make the decisions. Will be curious to hear the full story behind this.
I am a bit more optimistic than others about one thing. I think the stink on the VA scandal is too much to overcome anything in the media short of a new Kardashian sex tape (smdh). I am not optimistic about anything of consequence being done to fix it though. The administration is not capable of fixing it, even if they wanted to.. too inept. Congress isn’t going to do anything concrete unless someone in VFW or IAVA or one of the orgs starts hiring half of the lobbyists on K Street.
There’s a sex tape? Now I’m confused and so is my boner.
You have a dick?
That’s my question! Since when do we negotiate with terrorist? And if our President was gonna sell out to terrorists, why didn’t he just do this five years.
I’m glad we have our soldier back, regardless of the circumstances of his capture. He is a US soldier, and as an American and a veteran, I believe he needs to be here, on US soil. We don’t leave our own behind; even if they are shit bags.
Well. They would probably say that they did NOT negotiate with the Taliban. They talked, in the most general of terms with somebody who knew somebody in Qatar. That those somebodies may have negotiated on our behalf is just a coinky dinky.
Hit the “like” button on your post. I’m a vet too.
Bowe ls not a shltbag. We have to hear exactly what was golng on……..l suspect bullylng some servlcemen can be mean to thelr own. OR was he really peelng and captured? Elther way he’s Amerlcan and he’s been to hell. A lot of servlcemen/women are complalnlng about havlng to flnd hlm and belng flred upon etc. because of hlm. You went to a war zone. YOU ENLlSTED! Let the man come home and tell hls story.
Martha………..Martha.
Your comment is beyond insensitive, ill-mannered and just plain stupid.
You state above: “A lot of servlcemen/women are complalnlng about havlng to flnd hlm and belng flred upon etc. because of hlm. You went to a war zone. YOU ENLlSTED!”
Actually Martha, not only were soldiers fired upon many were killed or wounded looking for this (probable) deserter. I guess maybe the people that were killed or hurt have family members that might be “complaining.”
Should we wait to hear from Bergdahl? Perhaps his father’s tweet (removed) from today says it all: “I am working to free all Guantanamo prisoners. God will repay for the death of every Afghan child, ameen!
As an airborne infantryman myself (173rd ABCT), if I was relieving myself on a small Obersrvation Post in a remote part of Afghanistan and was targeted for capture I can assure you my team/squad/platoon would hear my voice and the employment of my weapon. We took our weapons absolutely everywhere with us, even inside the wire. The only other story I know of about an attempted capture happened in a near ambush and the captors were engaged by SSG Guinta (medal of honor receipent). If you know nothing about serving in a forward environment in a high speed airborne unit, please refrain from attempting to make sense of this. Stay in your lane.
GFY,bitch.
Do you feel the same if he is a traitor? Don’t you find it a bit odd in the way it all came together?
If I remember correctly, it wasn’t like he walked out 20 yards to take a leak and was captured. He left his rifle and just walked away. And 0bama has gone WAY outside the law by negotiating with these criminals and releasing the worst of the worst. More blood will flow.
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/207835-republicans-blast-obama-for-negotiating-with-taliban
Gps tracking implants for all 5 of the released terrorists would have been a pretty good idea…… track their movements for a year and hit all their repeditive stops. A good plastic surgeon could do it with little to no scarring……. Just sayin.
Who’s to say they haven’t already done that IJS.
And this is what number of how many laws that this POS has broken? Obama will continue to disregard the law, and Congress will continue to ignore it.. so we will continue this merry-go-round of lawlessness and there may not be any end in sight. And Nixon was threatened with impeachment for one hell of a lot less.
I’m glad that Bergdahl is back and alive, and I hope his family gets to see him soon. That said, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Bergdahl fucked up. All indications are that he left his unit without authorization, and regardless of what his intentions were for doing so, that is a huge fuckup and the root cause of his capture. That said, I hope they go easy on him in terms of discipline, if they discipline him at all. I think five years as a guest of the Taliban is more than enough punishment for going AWOL. And he will probably soon be getting his medical care through Obama’s VA, so we should pity him even more.
Ha, the first thing that came to my mind when I heard the news was “that mother fuckers gonna get a book deal out of this.”
I highly doubt this will be investigated. First, some in the military were already saying he would have been “punished” enough for walking off. Second, Obama is considering this a diplomatic win. If it comes out he traded five Taliban commanders for a deserter; it won’t be such a boon for him.
I live in Idaho and know a few things about this turd. Seems he mailed his personal effects home before deserting, and made some really stupid emails to his folks and girlfriend about how he hated the Army, how we just kill people at random daily, etc, etc. He wasn’t in country long enough to know anything. My biggest problem with this butt nugget is that he got a bunch of his brothers killed looking for his ass.
Screw him.
I wonder who is going to play him in the Oliver Stone movie?
Why, Sean Penn, of course. 🙂
Gonna need a metric shit ton of make up. Old Penn has not aged well.
Paste a beard on Clay Aiken.
There you go.
This is from Article 85 of the UCMJ:
(c) Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.
***********************************************
This young fool certainly won’t get the death penalty even though it may well apply in his case. But he should be returned to the unit from which he deserted to face punishment. At the very least the Army should convict him to the extent that he can’t get rich from his treachery.
I thought we did not negotiate? We gave up 5 terrorists for 1 guy? Precedent setting.
I’m glad he’s home. However, comma, dot dot dot, the circumstances of his capture need a full 15-6 investigation and if charges are warranted, slam dunk him. Good men died searching for him. I’d love to know how he got off the compound and why. The whole thing stinks like last weeks fish, all the way from capture to release, and the reasons for both.
So plays him in the lifetime movie?
I’m betting on Steve Buscemi
It will be a movie about how hetero normative and micro aggressive the Army is. His mom will be played by Meredith Baxter.
Jennifer Griffin at Fox News reported Pres Obama is required by law to notify Congress 30 days before any terrorists are transferred from the U.S. facility. Obama also is required to explain how the threat posed by such terrorists has been substantially mitigated.
Um, ok…whatever. This is Emperor Barry we’re talking about.
Jennifer also reported the “special forces” were Navy SEALs.
What this arrogant president doesn’t seem to realize is that every law he breaks with seeming impunity is one more charge to be included in articles of impeachment should the Republicans take control of both houses.
Impeachment is not going to happen. Politically, it would be a disaster.
What should really concern the Democrats is that every executive over-reach by Obama is a precedent that can and will be invoked by future Republican presidents.
Agreed, Hayabusa.
Although impeachment in the House only requires a simple majority, conviction and removal when tried by the Senate requires a 2/3 majority.
Even if the GOP retakes the Senate this year (not assured, but IMO at least a 50/50 or better chance), there is no way they end up with a 2/3 majority. And it will be a cold day in hell before any Democratic Senator votes to convict this POTUS of squat at an impeachment trial, regardless of the evidence available.
Didn’t Harry Reid just “change the rules” of the Senate to do away with filibuster?
We need conservatives to take a simple majority of both houses. I have no faith in the Republican establishment.
IM Simpleton: Senate filibuster rules have nothing to do with how impeachment trials are conducted in the Senate. The 2/3 majority requirement for conviction is in the Constitution (Article I, Section 3).
Is this the solider who walked away from his unit with some local (male or female)one night when they were restricted to camp, or was it another?
On the issue of “negotiating with terrorists”, the principle is sound, but application is the key. The Taliban are not transnational actors and don’t pose a threat to the US homeland. Ten years + later of war, I think it costs us nothing to deal 5 of theirs for one of ours from a war that’s over in a country we don’t need or want and can’t wait to get out of. The terrorist threat we deal with as a country isn’t going to go up or down with their release. Their release is strategically and militarily irrelevant to the terror war. If they were the X-Men, maybe I’d be worried, but their not.
We have allies we admire like the Israelis, who routinely conduct prisoner exchanges. Sometimes it makes sense to cut a deal. In this case, we lose nothing but 5 taxpayer bills for room and board and gain our guy back from a theater of war we are trying to leave with as much speed as we prudently can.
I don’t know all the circumstances of his capture, but lets assume he got nabbed because he did something stupid. He spent 5 years in captivity, I think he’s payed pretty good for that mistake, and if there was an opportunity to get him back without it costing us anything meaningful, should the President have turned the opportunity down? If he broke the rules, let the military do to him whatever they think is warranted. If the behavior that got him nabbed isn’t just absolutely unforgivable, then I would be okay with lenient discipline after 5 years of captivity with the Taliban, a nasty sentence all by itself.
I hear this often, that he’s “paid enough.” I think the families of those who died trying to find him would beg to differ. I know I sure would if it were my husband who was dead because Bergdahl decided to act like, as Jonn so eloquently put it, a stank ass hippie.
Granted, he deserves a trial and a chance to explain/defend himself. But from what I understand about the circumstantial evidence…it looks pretty bad. Personally? I would eat popcorn at his hanging.
Lessons learned for the bad guys:
“1. The current administration will trade ours for theirs, so we need to kidnap more.
2. We need to do whatever we can to ensure the next presidential election in the US brings in another administration as weak as the current one.”
Lesson for concerned, educated Americans: “We’re all less safe now, and each of us is now worth 1/5 of the terrorists, in Obama’s eyes.”
“1. The current administration will trade ours for theirs, so we need to kidnap more.
Terrorists in general are not stupid. They actually have a tactical logic to what they do, and therefore I think you are wrong on this score. In general, we DON’T negotiate. In application, what this often means is, we don’t cut deals with a gun pointed at our head. If they captured a soldier and then publicly said, we will kill him unless you free our people, we would refuse. It also means, we are not going to call you up and say “what do we have to do to get him back”. They know this.
Be for real. The Taliban held this guy for five years and at the end of all that keeping him alive, they got 5 of their own. That’s like one guy per year. That’s not much of a win. So its not a high return strategy. So I don’t think Bergdahl’s release creates such a result.
Context is important here too. We’re leaving Afghanistan. The war is over. We don’t want their country, never did. As long as they are not facilitating trans national attacks on the homeland from their territory, we actually don’t give a crap what they do. Bergdahl is part of the unfinished business of that war and considering that the Taliban’s main deal is fighting occupiers, keeping him only provides us with a reason to have to be around. Now that we have him, its one less reason to have ourselves in the country.
With any smidgen of luck, the CIA/FBI/SF guys that are taking them to Qatar for release, will release them at about 20,000ft over the Atlantic…
Make that 20,000 AGL over Qatar shit splaters.
Think I’mma wait for the 15-6…
Same here, streetsweeper. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if the ROI wasn’t released to the public for quite a while.
Shame Bernasty and Chevy (and Round Ranger) could not have been swapped.
Why in Allah’s name would the Taliban want those oxygen thieves? They’re crazy, not stupid.
Only use for them I can think of is the human mine detector platoon.
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/218195.php
Jawa Report has this – gives me pause.
Yeah, I’ll wait too. The guy could have deep ended, if, in fact, he walked away or tried something similarly stupid. As for the trade,I hope that at some point a teenie weenie tracking device was installed in each of the terrorists so the drones have a good target now.
Political Season: You lost me with the line, “On the issue of ‘“negotiating with terrorists”’, the principle is sound….” Unfortunately, that was your opening. I’m sure the remainder of the comment is great.
Should have read on friend. A principle, if its a correct one, is a good thing, but thats only half the game. you can apply a correct principle in the wrong way. Spare the rod, spoil the child for example. Correct Biblical principle, but if you beat your child for every infraction, big and small, you are applying it incorrectly.
IMO, it would have been an incorrect application of the principle to not make the deal for his release. The trade costs us zilch strategically or militarily. The war is over. We are busy trying to leave that country, which we neither need or want and honestly don’t care if the Taliban run it as long as they don’t let actual trans national terrorists use it as a staging ground for attacking the US homeland.
So to not make the deal when we can get our guy back so cheaply because of slavish adherence to a principle which applied here would lead to the absurd result of leaving our guy in the enemy’s hands when we could get him back by giving up detainees we don’t want anyway.
Its a measure of US strength and success in degrading the terrorist threat that we can cut loose these 5 yoyos without losing one bit of sleep about whether they return to the battlefield or not. It doesn’t matter what they do. The Taliban are no threat to the US homeland.
The Taliban are no threat to the US homeland.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that, fella. The Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e-Taliban) were responsible for the 2010 Times Square attempted car bombing.
As I recall, the only reason that one didn’t kill a fair number of people was that the bomb was poorly build and ended up a dud.
Have to concur with Hondo. How has the ideology of the Taliban or Al Qaeda been defeated?
That is the threat, and it is still very much alive.
“The Taliban are no threat to the US homeland.” I beg to differ. The 5 released are/were high ranking Taliban commanders. They’ve been at Gitmo for years. They are, I’ve no doubt, still pissed off at the US whom the Taliban has long regarded as their sworn enemy. Read their “bios” and then think about the safety and security of this country and all Americans. This swap is not going to end well I’m afraid.
Stank ass hippy. Deserter. I feel like these two go hand in hand. Good write up Jonn, I just hope that all the flag waving hippies view this as some moral victory for negotiation.
Meanwhile near your local VA there is probably a great many Vets worth a shit who are still not getting treatment. Why can’t this be the number one thing on the Nation’s mind?
Shit, stupid small iPhone screen, I Meant to say “I hope all the flag waving hippies DON’T view this as a moral victory for negotiation.”
Fuck me running. Daggone hippie bullshit. I’m doing push-ups time meow.
Obama knew after his re-election that he could do whatever he wanted to, “What the hell he doesn’t have to worry about re-election.” If any one of these released prisoners are ever found to commit any terrorist action either directly or indirectly Obama should at the least be tried for treason against the United States. After all he has yet again totally disregarded the laws concerning release of prisoners. If this man did walk off from his unit as stated by his soldiers from his own unit he should be tried and punished to the fullest extent of the UCMJ. As far as the comments that he has suffered enough by being in captivity for 5 years is punishment enough is crazy. If a 15-6 investigation proves he in fact did walk away from his unit, his action directly caused the deaths of several soldiers. This was a choice he made as an adult. A charge of murder should be levied against him for each life lost while looking for him. I am looking forward to hearing him explain his actions, leaving all of his sensitive equipment behind, something you never do even going to the latrine. Seeing copies of the e-mails he allegedly sent home prior to his “capture”. I feel for his parents, they have been through a lot. Lets see if the Obama administration will investigate this fully, or will use it to divert eyes from the VA scandal. Every other president has assumed responsibility for what has happened on their watch. Obama will not take responsibility for anything he has done so far, why start now. The rule has been that the United States does not negotiate with terrorists. Obama stated that he did not talk directly with the concerned parties. Answer me this, Who signed the order releasing the 5 prisoners from the facility at GB? To me that means he approved the results of the negotiations. So he was DIRECTLY involved in the negotiations. We will see America if our president has sold us out yet again.
I’ve been doing some research, and now I have more questions, so I will rely on you good folks to set me straight.
Is it possible that the five that were traded for Bergdahl were no longer or never were of any use to the US? Is possible that the reason they were released from Gitmo to Qatar because their Country of Origin wouldn’t take them back?
If that was the case then I could be ok with the trade, if for no other reason to get these dirt bags off our tax dime and to see justice served on Bergdahl if he did indeed desert.
Quatar brokered the deal. Part of that deal was that the released people not go back to the fighting, hence the year of “forced” living in Quatar.
Toasty, the Taliban asked for those 5 by name two years ago.
Thank you Ex-344MP and TMB.
I really didn’t follow this story to much until yesterday.
The more I read, the more I think we are screwed these next couple of years.
The more I dig around for the real deal on this guy, the more I am convinced that this was all done for political reasons.
The guy walked away from his post and looked to join the taliban. He left all of his sensitive items behind.
His father speaks Pasture or whatever it’s called as evidenced by his talk when the Prez had a press conference to announce his release.
His Father also supports the Taliban as evidenced by the tweet he sent out in perfectly good english, why speak another language at the press conference?
This story detracts from the VA issues. That was the whole point of it in the first place.
5 years of captivity………….it doesn’t add up for me.
Someone, anyone, give me an example besides the Jennifer Lynch capture that shows one of guys being rescued.
I know from experience and looking through classified docs in CIDNE (the program wikileaks got the info from and posted from our favorite transgendered soldier Manning) when I was our Battalion Targeting NCO in 07 to 08, that there were BOLOS put out for the missing soldiers, such as the guy who left base to visit his family in Baghdad, and I was under orders to always forward any information our S2 shop got from our Iraqi Police informants, to higher so at least the remains were returned.
So, can someone help me out here?
Apologies for my bad writing. I’m a little ticked because I know how much time and effort was put in to finding the guys lost in Iraq.
CIDNE, for those who do know was the clearing site used for ALL activity in both Iraq and A-Stan, and contained reports not only of Combat operations, but Intel Ops as well. These reports came from everywhere and every agency involved over there.
You name a US Intel organization, they were involved in Intel ops. From the DIA, all the way through the NSA and everything in between.
HumanInt, electronic, photo Intel was all there. Hence my extreme hatred of Manning.
Hell, even fragmentary information was published in it, including rumors on where captured Americans were, and who had them. All of these had to have troops investigate in the ground, which of course put those units in danger.
Dammit, sorry all. I’m venting a bit here..Jonn, If you feel OK SEC was compromised by my rantings, please delete my posts, I think what I said is pretty clean though and public knowledge.
OPSEC… stupid phone.
So, does he rate the POW medal and, if found to have deserted his post, would that invalidate the medal award ?
Technically, yes he would not rate it, especially if found that he deserted his post.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
I find it uncomfortably interesting that Obama visits the AFG, VA scandal escalates, then Bergdahl is released.
This is the same deal the Taliban put on the table along time ago, right?
Curiouser and curiouser!
FormerUSN…I agree. I think Obama has been holding this in his back pocket for the “right opportunity”. Current scandals brought it out.
Maybe he’ll become this war’s Pfc Garwood.
For those too young to remember:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_R._Garwood
The photo I just saw of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl at the White House is disgusting. It’s amazing how Obama pulls a rabbit out of his hat as his popularity falls. Matter of fact it looks like they pulled Bergdahl out of a hat. I’m sorry, if you were a real POW, get a haircut and a shave before you become a dancing fool for the White House.
That was his father.
James, if you’d paid attention and actually listened to the news conference, you would know that the guy with the bushy beard at the White House with President Obama was not Bowe Bergdahl — it was Bowe’s mother and father.
“— it was Bowe’s mother and father.”
Which one has the more unkempt, scraggly beard?
The Long War Journal has info on the 5 Talibans that got traded for Sgt. Bergdahl, and sorry for the believers, it looks like the terrorist threat to the US will go up with these 5 people back in the world – they ain’t staying in Qatar for very long.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/05/sgt_bowe_bergdahl_ex.php
Anyone else think of the “Homeland” scenario when you read about this, or was it just me?
I look forward to hearing what the 15-6 says about it.
Though there is a lot of evidence so far showing him as the hippy anti-war punk who joined to do his damage from the inside.
I hoped well for this young man…
However all the posts on the news stories from those who served with him paint a different view. Wow what a interesting story that is coming out about him now.
Walked out of the gate? You don’t do that. A lot of people that stated they were there when he walked out claimed they were looking for him, plus many other units involved in searching for him and they took causalities.
Glad he’s back but if a Courts Martial is due, so be it.
I might add, if he cost a single American life. He needs to serve the time. I hope he doesn’t become the “nobama child poster.”
BinhTuy66…Just my opinion but just as Obama disobeyed U.S. laws in doing this “trade”, I believe he will also give him a big time pass on the debriefings and UCMJ actions. In other words he will usurp military protocol to now, “make this all go away” to allow Obama a glory moment to look strong and like a hero to the left.
When the first American is killed as a result of the illegal negotiations to release these terrorists, will Obummer be charged with high treason, or at least accessory to murder, or skate like he & his untouchables have in the past?
Well I guess this says something..
http://news.yahoo.com/gop-lawmakers-prisoner-exchange-violated-law-210934403–politics.html
“Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk,”
No way is obummer going to allow the truth to come out of this. He’s hidden far worse from Americans several times already.
This guy is goin to be Duke of New York because Obummer needs something to raise those poll numbers less the democrats loose the senate.
Ok, the defenders in the fb comments and in the regular comments need to remember a few things, before claiming that passing judgement by others makes them big meanies; he broke the rules from the start and has to answer for those, like oh, I don’t know, his General Orders, perhaps? Followed by Code of Conduct violations? That’s just the starting point and we can pass judgement on those without having to know what he was thinking or his intentions. He abandoned his post, which is not in dispute.
No argument with you. I was among those who said, repeatedly, that we first needed to secure his person before vilifying him. If he deserves it, and it certainly appears that he does, fine with me to go after him now.
He needs to answer for that desertion charge and any others for which he may be responsible. Still, while it is nice to hear from those who were there, I am more interested in what the official investigation concludes, at least until that investigation is shown to be corrupted.
I am not naïve. The possibility for political hacks sweeping the facts of the matter under the rug on this one are very strong, more probable than just likely.
For all of you thinking we shouldn’t speculate, please take a look at this guy’s father’s twitter account:
https://twitter.com/bobbergdahl
Here is a sample:
@ABalkhi I am still working to free all Guantanamo prisoners. God will repay for the death of every Afghan child, ameen
He walked off base and was captured. His anti American sentiments were well known. He is an idiot, deserter, and perhaps enemy combatent. Fuck him, his family, and the media for thinking this was a good story for the Socialist President.
I’m a little confused…….he was released yesterday, and in supposed life threatening health, yet met with Obama today?
Something doesn’t seem right. Isn’t there a process released POW’s go through?
If you’re referring to the bearded man who was at the White House standing next to Obama, that was Bergdahl’s FATHER.
My mistake. Thanks for correcting that.
I’m sure I’ll have those that disagree with me, and that’s fine. This blog has never been about everyone finding agreement about everything. Personally, I’ve always had mixed emotions when it comes to him. A few years back I was taking an “Evasion/Conduct After Capture Course.” It was not full survival school, but it was taught by former SOF operators from multiple branches. As a history buff, I was already familiar with stories of our POW’s in Vietnam. I knew what those men went through, and did everything possible to maintain what we call today, The Code of Conduct. So when my instructors showed a video of a “captured” Bergdahl praising his “Taliban Brothers” I wanted to puke. And when another instructor shared that he had lost brothers from his ODA team looking for him…I was of the opinion “Fuck Him”. But I read some of Jonn’s pieces saying we should get him back, then judge. Then last November at the POW Network Gala in Branson, MO. Mary had placed a display up with noting that Bergdal was our nation’s only current POW. I wondered how this would be received by the former Vietnam POW’s i the room. One of them told me that they had one thing much easier than Bergdahl. Each other. Bergdahl didn’t have anyone to share a tap code with to help keep the faith. Much more likely for someone to break when they have no one to lean on. Now I know the topic of his disappearance is the other thorn in everyone’s side. But while I agree with Jonn on many things, I don’t know if I would chalk it up to “hippie” behavior. I was in Kuwait in the build-up and invasion of Iraq. We had a Security Forces Airman try to do the same thing, just walk away. It was Kuwait, so he didn’t get very far. It was after we started sharing stories about his odd behavior, that we received word that back stateside it had been diagnosed as a full schizophrenic break. I’m not a head shrink, just a regular… Read more »
I’ve seen people lose it during deployment (to Okinawa) and maybe he had some sort of mental health issue that made him walk off. Let the investigation and the debrief get taken care of first and go from there.
@AverageNCO
Good argument and well written.
I worked a lot of years going by the rule of law, judges, juries, etc. To be honest, I don’t have the patience for Jane Fonda’s adopted son, Bowe, so rather than be fair-minded I’ve more or less convicted him in my mind.
The comment at the top by JeffandBrenda Howard, which is from facebook is good enough for me. Furthermore, Bowe’s daddy posted a helluva tweet, that was removed – here’s a screen grab: https://twitter.com/TrotAlex/status/472940207566635009/photo/1
Screw ’em both.
There’s a Marine imprisoned in Mexico. His situation cannot be good at all. Will The Emperor offer to trade for him? I’m thinking we should offer 15 million illegal aliens. It would be a painful sacrifice for The Emperor. Unlike the Gitmo terrorists, he wants to keep the Mexicans.
Exactly.
Guys thanks for your info. I am just a Citizen and trying to figure this out. I did take a lot of issue with Obama saying we leave no one behind with his known disdain for the Military. My youngest son is a recent EMT and has put his paperwork into the Navy to become a Corpsman. Thanks for all of your Service and Sacrifices.
Hold Bergdahl accountable
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/bowe-bergdahl-must-be-held-accountable-deaths-his-desertion-caused-he-should-face-article-32-hearing/0BD0xzZw
When the first American is killed as a direct result of this treasonistic act of negotiating with terrorists, will Obummer be charged with high treason, or at least accessory to murder?
That is as likely as a snowflake surviving in Hell – or Satan repenting.