US soldier Bowe Bergdahl freed by Taliban in Afghanistan

[Ulysses G.]

If it turns out be true that Bergdahl was left in a metal box for two years without seeing another human being, I feel that he should not be court-martialed, even if he is guilty of desertion. IMO, that is more than enough punishment for anyone who is not a rapist or a murderer.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/13/bergdahl-held-in-solitary-confinement-for-2-years-officials-say/?intcmp=HPBucket

Edited June 14, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[ClutchClark]

If it turns out be true that Bergdahl was left in a metal box for two years without seeing another human being, I feel that he should not be court-martialed, even if he is guilty of desertion. IMO, that is more than enough punishment for anyone who is not a rapist or a murderer.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/13/bergdahl-held-in-solitary-confinement-for-2-years-officials-say/?intcmp=HPBucket

UG? Is that really you or did someone hijack your TV password and start responding in a kindler, gentler manner? ;-)

[tifino]

Bergdahl doesn't even need to be a rapist, murderer, or even a terrorist for that matter, to be locked away.

The Yank system, how it seems, is that all they have to do is say the 'conspiracy' word and anyone, but anyone, can be locked away for very long... time

[snarky66]

We can drop the pretense that obama doesn't negotiate with terrorists.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ClutchClark]

We can drop the pretense that obama doesn't negotiate with terrorists.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Yep, instead we can say the same thing we said about Reagan.

He does what it takes to bring American captives home.

[Ulysses G.]

If it turns out be true that Bergdahl was left in a metal box for two years without seeing another human being, I feel that he should not be court-martialed, even if he is guilty of desertion. IMO, that is more than enough punishment for anyone who is not a rapist or a murderer.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/13/bergdahl-held-in-solitary-confinement-for-2-years-officials-say/?intcmp=HPBucket

UG? Is that really you or did someone hijack your TV password and start responding in a kindler, gentler manner? ;-)

I am against the trade, not getting him freed, but the cost has to be considered. A lot of people think that it could have been done for cash. A lot of people think that there was money paid and it was covered up.

[snarky66]

_{Seems like I posted once before that he was held by the Haqqani Network who only wanted cash. Not to worry. Hillary (mrs. Clinton) says we have nothing to worry about.}

_{As far as the metal cage stuff I guess we only have bo's word for it.}

[snarky66]

The biggest difference between Reagan & barry is that barry is claiming he didn't negotiate with terrorists. He sent Hagel out to lie to Congress on this topic. In his mind it was the Gov't of Qatar who did the deal. (I guess)

[klikster]

Just ran across this weirdness -- http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/14/sicko-twin-sisters-say-bowe-bergdahls-dad-was-obsessive-peeping-tom-stalker/

[Scott]

Off-topic posts deleted.

[PiPiFFS]

_{Seems like I posted once before that he was held by the Haqqani Network who only wanted cash. Not to worry. Hillary (mrs. Clinton) says we have nothing to worry about.}

_{As far as the metal cage stuff I guess we only have bo's word for it.}

Words I would suggest that have been put into his mouth and well rehearsed over the last few weeks by the Whitehouse spin team if this man was in any way a returned prisoner he would have been paraded before the media from day one and not hidden away like he has been.

Sorry but the whole thing stinks !

[stander]

Saving Private Bergdahl

How a member of a special operations unit almost lost his leg—and his life—on a mission to retrieve Bowe Bergdahl.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/wounded-looking-for-bowe-bergdahl-107955.html#ixzz34xOog7C2

[ClutchClark]

Saving Private Bergdahl

How a member of a special operations unit almost lost his legand his lifeon a mission to retrieve Bowe Bergdahl.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/wounded-looking-for-bowe-bergdahl-107955.html#ixzz34xOog7C2

Unfortunately, the brave men and women who enlist in our all volunteer military forces do not get to pick and choose their assignments and when they sign upon the dotted line they knowingly place themselves at risk to carry out whatever duty their superiors feel necessary. Being placed in harms way is part of the job description. Sadly.

[Morch]

Saving Private Bergdahl

How a member of a special operations unit almost lost his legand his lifeon a mission to retrieve Bowe Bergdahl.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/wounded-looking-for-bowe-bergdahl-107955.html#ixzz34xOog7C2

Unfortunately, the brave men and women who enlist in our all volunteer military forces do not get to pick and choose their assignments and when they sign upon the dotted line they knowingly place themselves at risk to carry out whatever duty their superiors feel necessary. Being placed in harms way is part of the job description. Sadly.

Reading the article, he's not whining about the mission as such, more about the presenting Bergdahl in a positive light.

Him and his buddies carried out the mission regardless of their personal feelings.

Got a lot of respect for people willing to do this consciously.

[tifino]

good samaritans do it all the time, but sometimes it is... Wasted Good Money after Bad

[ClutchClark]

Saving Private Bergdahl

How a member of a special operations unit almost lost his legand his lifeon a mission to retrieve Bowe Bergdahl.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/wounded-looking-for-bowe-bergdahl-107955.html#ixzz34xOog7C2

Unfortunately, the brave men and women who enlist in our all volunteer military forces do not get to pick and choose their assignments and when they sign upon the dotted line they knowingly place themselves at risk to carry out whatever duty their superiors feel necessary. Being placed in harms way is part of the job description. Sadly.

Reading the article, he's not whining about the mission as such, more about the presenting Bergdahl in a positive light.

Him and his buddies carried out the mission regardless of their personal feelings.

Got a lot of respect for people willing to do this consciously.

I haven't read anything about Bergdahl reported in a positive light, I have just read he was a very troubled young man who should not have been in a forwarding operating base and whose supervisors failed to act on the red flags that he was a loose cannon and a risk to the operation. I have just heard the news reports that he deserved to be returned to the US.

But then I don't watch FOX news and I don't listen to those hate filled radio programs.

Edited June 18, 2014 by ClutchClark

[Morch]

Unfortunately, the brave men and women who enlist in our all volunteer military forces do not get to pick and choose their assignments and when they sign upon the dotted line they knowingly place themselves at risk to carry out whatever duty their superiors feel necessary. Being placed in harms way is part of the job description. Sadly.

Reading the article, he's not whining about the mission as such, more about the presenting Bergdahl in a positive light. Him and his buddies carried out the mission regardless of their personal feelings. Got a lot of respect for people willing to do this consciously.

I haven't read anything about Bergdahl reported in a positive light, I have just read he was a very troubled young man who should not have been in a forwarding operating base and whose supervisors failed to act on the red flags that he was a loose cannon and a risk to the operation. I have just heard the news reports that he deserved to be returned to the US.

But then I don't watch FOX news and I don't listen to those hate filled radio programs.

I do not watch Fox news, and not much interesting radio nowadays.

The picture painted when this deal was announced is somewhat different to the one emerging now. While Bergdahl may be over-vilified now, a lot of the details surrounding the circumstances of his captivity weren't exactly made public by the government. If anything, the government tried to downplay or even hush discussion of the issue.

“I don’t hate Bergdahl,” says C. “But he needs to be held accountable for his bad decision to leave his crew during war. When people say Bergdahl served his country with honor, that’s an incorrect summary of his service. There are families whose loved ones went deep into harm’s way because of Bergdahl’s choice.”

[Morch]

While waiting for some of the question marks surrounding Bowe Bergdahl's case to clear, another desertion (well, possible double desertion) comes back to life:

Marine who disappeared in Iraq in 2004 back in U.S.

WASHINGTON - A Marine who was declared a deserter nearly 10 years ago after disappearing in Iraq and then returning to the U.S. claiming he had been kidnapped, only to disappear again, is back in U.S. custody, officials said Sunday.

Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, 34, turned himself in and was being flown Sunday from an undisclosed location in the Middle East to Norfolk, Virginia. He is to be moved Monday to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, according to a spokesman, Capt. Eric Flanagan.

Maj. Gen. Raymond Fox, commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Lejeune, will determine whether to court martial Hassoun.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/marine-who-disappeared-in-iraq-in-2004-back-in-u-s/

Marine Twice Charged With Desertion Turns Himself In

A U.S. Marine who had been charged with desertion — not once but twice — has turned himself in to U.S. military investigators in Bahrain, officials said.

Ten years ago, in June 2004, Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun disappeared from his base in Fallujah, Iraq.

Within days he appeared in a poorly-staged hostage video, and within a month he mysteriously showed up unharmed at the U.S. embassy in Beirut.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/marine-twice-charged-desertion-turns-himself-n143916

Edited June 30, 2014 by Morch

[pmarlin]

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has now been charged with desertion by the U.S. Army. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bowe-bergdahl-be-charged-desertion-officials-say-n294466

[Ulysses G.]

Obama never should have traded Bowe Bergdahl for 5 major terrorists. However, it is too late to do anything about that now. IMO, if there is no evidence that he is a traitor, I believe that he should be charged as a deserter and then given a slap on the hand. He was probably in fear for his life the whole time in captivity and has already been through enough.

Edited January 28, 2015 by Ulysses G.

[klikster]

Obama never should have traded Bowe Bergdahl for 5 major terrorists. However, it is too late to do anything about that now. IMO, if there is no evidence that he is a traitor, I believe that he should be charged as a deserter and then given a slap on the hand. He was probably in fear for his life the whole time in captivity and has already been through enough.

Who are you and what have you done with UG?

Which man in combat, even a combat situation, is not in fear for his life? Fear is no excuse for walking away from your post and putting your team in danger.

No evidence that he is a traitor? He was not captured. He volunteered to "join" his captors. Seems to me that gave he "gave aid and comfort to the enemy".

Would those 5 major terrorists have been released is it had not been for the Bergdahl swap?

Slap on the hand, not enough IMO. Some jail time seems appropriate. How about -- the same amount of time he spent with the enemy?

[Ulysses G.]

I did not say that there is no evidence that he is a traitor. I said, IF there is no evidence that he is a traitor, he should be charged as a deserter and then given a slap on the hand. IF there IS evidence that he is a traitor, I think that he should be charged with it and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. IMO, those 5 major terrorists have been released for a deserter, never mind a traitor.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Scott

[Eirene]

I realize that I am a wee bit late to the party....nevertheless.... I applaud Johpa's recommendation on General Smedley Butler's most excellent essay 'War Is a Racket'. Additionaly, I would like to recommend 'The Phase III Report of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century' chartered in 1998/Embargoed until January 31/2001 when the New President is installed. Both should be mandatory reading for school children in the United States. It could possibly change their world or at least save some lives.

There is such thing as informed speculation, but that must be too much to ask.

Well this uninformed speculator was watching an even more uninformed speculator today, that radical leftist Fareed Zakaria, who noted that the two candidates running for election in Afghanistan, Abduallah Abullah and Ashraf Ghani, are both friendly towards US interests and yet both are in favor of bringing the Taliban into the body politic. The US is slowly withdrawing from its faulty decision to place regular troops into Afghanistan and this prisoner swap has many longer term undertones.

But listen folks, the danger of capture of US soldiers by enemy combatants to be held for political gain is no different today than decades ago. There is no substantial increase in risk to Americans as the risk is always present in a war zone. When the war in Vietnam was winding down we negotiated with the North Vietnamese over POWs. Now that the war in Afghanistan is winding down we negotiated with the Taliban. Nothing has changed and nothing will change as the US will never learn from the mistakes from the past as long as a new generation of war profiteers smells an opportunity. If you don't believe me then read the clarion work of another uniformed speculator and total military wimp, Smedley Butler's War is a Racket. But pardon me for taking you away from your highly informed and terribly neutral sources on FOX News.

[Anthony5]

It was probably not a very good idea trading him for terrorists, but I am still glad that the poor fellow is finally free and back with his family.

Have those "terrorists" been convicted in court, or were they just labeled terrorist by the Bush administration and have never been charged as so?

[chuckd]

It was probably not a very good idea trading him for terrorists, but I am still glad that the poor fellow is finally free and back with his family.

Have those "terrorists" been convicted in court, or were they just labeled terrorist by the Bush administration and have never been charged as so?

Never convicted, but CNN and the Washington Times seem to believe at least one of them was...and still is..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Officials: Detainee swapped for Bergdahl suspected of militant activities

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/29/politics/bergdahl-swap-prisoner-militant-activity/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taliban member swapped by Obama for Bowe Bergdahl tried to return to terror: report

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/29/obama-released-taliban-member-swapped-bowe-bergdah/

[arjunadawn]

It was probably not a very good idea trading him for terrorists, but I am still glad that the poor fellow is finally free and back with his family.

Have those "terrorists" been convicted in court, or were they just labeled terrorist by the Bush administration and have never been charged as so?

The premise of your question is wrong, therefore the answer can never be provided. This is not a legal option- court. These are not criminals. Insofar as the Obama administration just announced they are not terrorists (how absurd but okay, lets go with this...) they are enemy combatants, then it is IAW the rules of warfare that they can be held indefinitely pending the end of hostilities. Therefore, the issue about "convicted in court" just serves to muddy the two sided issue- Obama variously wants to treat them all as criminals, but when it is convenient- Like now because he traded a traitor for them-... now they are not a terrorist organization.

You cant have it both ways but this administration has tried. In the end, this affair, like every other single muslim related issue, has been decidedly dealt with an a manner injurious to America. The "Leave no man behind" mantra is not unique to the American soldier's view of war; and is in fact kinda timeless. This has never applied to traitors, deserters, etc. In the long train of history this behavior is considered so reprehensible that summary execution is usually the manner it was handled. IMO, the more egregious charges or assertions will be whitewashed in order to obtain some semblance of face saving for the admin; after all, the evidence was overwhelming he defected. But the assertion that can pretty much be calculated my military strategists and some good old fashioned math, suggests quite clearly after his desertion to the enemy the TTP (techniques, tactics, and procedures) of the enemy changed dramatically, reflecting a nearly crystal-ball view of what US forces would do next, and how they would respond. Likewise, deaths increased and more military lives were exposed. There was even scuttlebutt (talk) amongst the men at the time that the defector was clearly helping them. It is this I suspect will be glossed over and and some face-saving will be actioned. When the data is crunched regarding patrols, contact with the enemy, enemy behaviors, and deaths, it is hard to not see an intel leak.

Returning enemy combatant leaders to the battle-space is itself an act of treason, or at the least, profound disconnect from the reality of war.

[chuckd]

It would seem the administration would be guilty of providing aid and comfort to the enemy, if nothing else.

Article III, Section 3, clause 1 of the Constitution calls this act treasonous.

My prediction?

Bergdahl will skate free of any charges. The Commander in Chief is in charge of the military, the Justice Department and the main stream media is his lap dog.

It is unlikely anything will ever come of Bergdahl's acts. This is just another scandal that will be left to drop from sight.

Forget the six service members that lost their lives searching for Bergdahl after he abandoned his post.

[Steely Dan]

It was probably not a very good idea trading him for terrorists, but I am still glad that the poor fellow is finally free and back with his family.

Have those "terrorists" been convicted in court, or were they just labeled terrorist by the Bush administration and have never been charged as so?

The premise of your question is wrong, therefore the answer can never be provided. This is not a legal option- court. These are not criminals. Insofar as the Obama administration just announced they are not terrorists (how absurd but okay, lets go with this...) they are enemy combatants, then it is IAW the rules of warfare that they can be held indefinitely pending the end of hostilities. Therefore, the issue about "convicted in court" just serves to muddy the two sided issue- Obama variously wants to treat them all as criminals, but when it is convenient- Like now because he traded a traitor for them-... now they are not a terrorist organization.

You cant have it both ways but this administration has tried. In the end, this affair, like every other single muslim related issue, has been decidedly dealt with an a manner injurious to America. The "Leave no man behind" mantra is not unique to the American soldier's view of war; and is in fact kinda timeless. This has never applied to traitors, deserters, etc. In the long train of history this behavior is considered so reprehensible that summary execution is usually the manner it was handled. IMO, the more egregious charges or assertions will be whitewashed in order to obtain some semblance of face saving for the admin; after all, the evidence was overwhelming he defected. But the assertion that can pretty much be calculated my military strategists and some good old fashioned math, suggests quite clearly after his desertion to the enemy the TTP (techniques, tactics, and procedures) of the enemy changed dramatically, reflecting a nearly crystal-ball view of what US forces would do next, and how they would respond. Likewise, deaths increased and more military lives were exposed. There was even scuttlebutt (talk) amongst the men at the time that the defector was clearly helping them. It is this I suspect will be glossed over and and some face-saving will be actioned. When the data is crunched regarding patrols, contact with the enemy, enemy behaviors, and deaths, it is hard to not see an intel leak.

Returning enemy combatant leaders to the battle-space is itself an act of treason, or at the least, profound disconnect from the reality of war.

I guess this is why recent administration statements characterize the Taliban as an insurgency, not a terrorist organization, treason is a paper thin distance further away. I have yet to confirm the details but I read one of the detainees released from Gitmo took part in the Pakistsn Taliban insurgency into a school where 140 children were murdered.

Whichever way you look at it this does not look good.

[CMNightRider]

Obama traded Bowe Bergdahl for five high ranking militants who were being held at Gitmo last May. Several soldiers from Bergdahi's Army unit, have come forward and accused Bergdahl of deserting his post and seeking out the Taliban. It was reported there were solders killed looking for this idiot.

Obama made a big deal out of the prisoner exchange, and even invited Bergdahl's parents to the White House for a photo shoot. Obama has proven over and over again he is incompetent, inept, and naive. Now we have Obama's poster boy Bergdahl, still serving in the Army.

In my opinion, if the Government Accountability Office determines he is a deserter, Bergdahl should receive a dishonorable discharge, and Obama should be psychologically evaluated.

[Steely Dan]

Obama traded Bowe Bergdahl for five high ranking militants who were being held at Gitmo last May. Several soldiers from Bergdahi's Army unit, have come forward and accused Bergdahl of deserting his post and seeking out the Taliban. It was reported there were solders killed looking for this idiot.

Obama made a big deal out of the prisoner exchange, and even invited Bergdahl's parents to the White House for a photo shoot. Obama has proven over and over again he is incompetent, inept, and naive. Now we have Obama's poster boy Bergdahl, still serving in the Army.

In my opinion, if the Government Accountability Office determines he is a deserter, Bergdahl should receive a dishonorable discharge, and Obama should be psychologically evaluated.

They should both receive a dishonorable discharge if you ask me.