Bowe Bergdahl- POW or Deserter?

[JJ Husker]

I am sick of this sh#t.

We get a news report a few days ago saying there has been a prisoner swap, one of ours, a long time held POW, for five Taliban. My first thought was, I sure am glad we got our guy back even if it did cost the release of 5 pretty bad guys. Imo, 1 of ours is worth 5 of theirs any day of the week. So, I'm thinking maybe the Obama administration got something right and, even though I don't like the idea of negotiating with terrorists, I was glad.

Now, within a matter of days of the initial report, we are being told our guy, this poor captive POW, Bowe Bergdahl may actually be a Taliban sympathizer who deserted and made anti-American statements before going missing. His father is supposedly also a Taliban sympathizer. there are reports that a member of his platoon said it was apparent he deserted and that we lost 6 soldiers trying to get Bergdahl back.

One of these two differing views of the situation is more true than the other. the two options are;

1- We made a distasteful deal but rescued one of our POW's and there are some evil people trying once again to blame Obama for anything/everything and are reporting half truths or out and out lies about Bergdahl. If any of these stories about his desertion are untrue, the people reporting this should be shot.

or

2- Obama and his administration are either really stupid and did not do their homework before making this deal (best case) or worst case, they acted in treasonous fashion by making this deal and anyone invoved in making this deal should lose their job, be impeached, and be shot for treason.

I really REALLY don't care which it is but somebody needs to, has to, burn to the ground for this. I am so f'ing tired of two divergent views of everything that happens with this administration. The truth has to come out on this deal and those on the wrong side of it need to pay.

 

[carlfense]

The currently available information seems to indicate that he is both.

 

[BigRedBuster]

At this point, I really don't care. I'm glad he is free and even if he deserted, I think he lived in enough hell for 5 years to sit and think about it. Give him all the mental and medical help he needs and let him start a new life.

 

[JJ Husker]

The currently available information seems to indicate that he is both.

If that is the case, then I believe the fact he is/was deserter should have prevented the administration from making this deal. All these stories within a matter of days? Our intelligence has to be better than this. Not knowing is not an excuse in this deal. You don't trade 5 high ranking Taliban for a fricken deserter. And, if you do, you should be fired, impeached, or hung for doing so.

 

[carlfense]

At this point, I really don't care. I'm glad he is free and even if he deserted, I think he lived in enough hell for 5 years to sit and think about it. Give him all the mental and medical help he needs and let him start a new life.

+1.

It makes me a little uncomfortable to think about conducting a worthiness test before trying to free captured Americans. That said, I certainly understand why some in the army are furious with him for the lives lost/risked in the alleged rescue operations.

 

[JJ Husker]

At this point, I really don't care. I'm glad he is free and even if he deserted, I think he lived in enough hell for 5 years to sit and think about it. Give him all the mental and medical help he needs and let him start a new life.

I couldn't disagree any more strongly with this. If he deserted, f#*k him. You sure as hell don't turn lose 5 bad guys to get him back. Unless there is something I am missing here..... I would need that explained.

 

[carlfense]

The currently available information seems to indicate that he is both.

If that is the case, then I believe the fact he is/was deserter should have prevented the administration from making this deal. All these stories within a matter of days? Our intelligence has to be better than this. Not knowing is not an excuse in this deal. You don't trade 5 high ranking Taliban for a fricken deserter. And, if you do, you should be fired, impeached, or hung for doing so.

Oh . . . you think that they didn't know before making the deal?

Does that fired, impeached, or hung also apply to the local commanders who supposedly attempted to rescue Bergdahl shortly after his capture?

I don't really understand the rage . . . and I'm not talking about the vitriol directed at Obama. That I understand.

 

[NUance]

I wonder if we got to pick the Taliban guys we traded for him, or they picked them. Maybe there were five guys who were suitable for being released.

 

[sd'sker]

I wonder if we got to pick the Taliban guys we traded for him, or they picked them. Maybe there were five guys who were suitable for being released.

i was wondering that, too. seems like there are plenty of prisoners at gitmo who really never were threats to national security.

 

[BigRedBuster]

At this point, I really don't care. I'm glad he is free and even if he deserted, I think he lived in enough hell for 5 years to sit and think about it. Give him all the mental and medical help he needs and let him start a new life.

+1.

It makes me a little uncomfortable to think about conducting a worthiness test before trying to free captured Americans. That said, I certainly understand why some in the army are furious with him for the lives lost/risked in the alleged rescue operations.

I completely agree. I would be too if I were in the military or a family member of one who was..especially one who was killed.

However, maybe I am just to numb to absolutely everything being so politicized that we really don't ever get the real story. I just know that just about every story I am going to read on the subject is either going to paint the administration as the savior that brought home the war hero or paint the administration as the idiot who made a deal with the devil.

I will leave all this up to the military that is somewhat less political about its investigations. If those people (the ones who this really affects) feel he was a deserter then I guess they will deal with it how they see fit.

 

[BigRedBuster]

At this point, I really don't care. I'm glad he is free and even if he deserted, I think he lived in enough hell for 5 years to sit and think about it. Give him all the mental and medical help he needs and let him start a new life.

I couldn't disagree any more strongly with this. If he deserted, f#*k him. You sure as hell don't turn lose 5 bad guys to get him back. Unless there is something I am missing here..... I would need that explained.

How am I supposed to be outraged about something that I have no idea what to trust in the story?

 

[JJ Husker]

The currently available information seems to indicate that he is both.

If that is the case, then I believe the fact he is/was deserter should have prevented the administration from making this deal. All these stories within a matter of days? Our intelligence has to be better than this. Not knowing is not an excuse in this deal. You don't trade 5 high ranking Taliban for a fricken deserter. And, if you do, you should be fired, impeached, or hung for doing so.

Oh . . . you think that they didn't know before making the deal?

Does that fired, impeached, or hung also apply to the local commanders who supposedly attempted to rescue Bergdahl shortly after his capture?

I don't really understand the rage . . . and I'm not talking about the vitriol directed at Obama. That I understand.

Don't try to make this about my general dislike for Obama. I promise you that is NOT what this is.

No, that fired, impeached, or hung does not apply to local commanders who may have attempted to rescue him shortly after his capture. That's what we do- protect/rescue our own. There is a big, HUGE, difference based on the timeline and between attempting a rescue and trading bad guys to get him back.

The rage comes from this now being years later and apparently everybody under the sun knew about his anti American statements and his likely being a deserter except for the guys (Obama unless somebody else steps forward and take responsibility) who arranged the swap. I would NEVER make that deal knowing what I do about this now. Either they didn't know and should've or they made a terrible deal on purpose.

 

[JJ Husker]

At this point, I really don't care. I'm glad he is free and even if he deserted, I think he lived in enough hell for 5 years to sit and think about it. Give him all the mental and medical help he needs and let him start a new life.

I couldn't disagree any more strongly with this. If he deserted, f#*k him. You sure as hell don't turn lose 5 bad guys to get him back. Unless there is something I am missing here..... I would need that explained.

How am I supposed to be outraged about something that I have no idea what to trust in the story?

I understand this but we all need to be outraged about this, one way or the other when the truth comes out. We simply have to quit bickering based on politics. There is a truth to this situation and those on the wrong side of it need to pay. That is what outrages me. I really would feel better about the whole deal if Obama ended up being squeaky clean. I want the desertion stories to be either lies or a situation where our administration could not have possibly known about them. If they knew he was a deserter and traded five of the worst Taliban detainees for him, I'm sorry, that is some majorly f'd up decision making.

 

[JJ Husker]

I wonder if we got to pick the Taliban guys we traded for him, or they picked them. Maybe there were five guys who were suitable for being released.

i was wondering that, too. seems like there are plenty of prisoners at gitmo who really never were threats to national security.

The reports I have seen would indicate that the Taliban picked their five guys and that they were indeed confirmed, very bad guys.