Bowe Bergdahl- POW or Deserter?

[NUance]

Who, specifically, is saying he's a deserter? Was he ever listed as a deserter? If so, by whom?

 

I don't understand why we have to be outraged right now. Why the rush to judgment?

 

The soldiers in his brigade. LINK

 

I guess the controversy is raging right now, five years after the fact, because we just traded five bad guys for him. I get the impression that his fellow soldiers thought that he got what he deserved when he was captured by Taliban after (apparently) deserting his unit. It's hard to say who is right.

[darkhorse85]

I really hope they don't go ahead and promote him to Staff Sergeant. He's done nothing to warrant such a promotion.

[BigRedBuster]

Here was my first instant reaction to what I thought happened here.

 

Obama knows we have one "POW" still in Afghanistan. We are going to pull all troops out of Afghanistan and he doesn't feel comfortable leaving anyone behind and probably neither does the military even though they all knew there were rumors he was a deserter.

 

Obama also still has the problem with Gitmo. This was a big campaign promise that he was going to close it down. I honestly think he made all the accusatory statements about how horrible Bush was for having Gitmo in the first place. He then got into office and saw the classified intel about the people there and said....."Oh sh#t". So, closing that down has mysteriously been put on the back burner and forgotten. BUT, he still has these guys down there and some maybe they really don't think they even need to keep anymore.

 

So.....a deal was done for 5 guys for one POW. Once the POW is back home, the military will take care of business however they see fit.

 

The biggest issue I have in this is the negotiations with these people. Once you negotiate with these people, they become trained that we will give up X prisoners for one of ours. That means, if they want more released, they need to capture more Americans.

 

Once again, I will let the people who really know what went on take care of it.

[Whistlebritches]

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.

 

Supposedly congress was consulted on this deal. The people that brokered this deal had to at least know about the article NUance just linked and I'm certain they know way more about it than what's been released. Though our intelligence has been wrong before.

[darkhorse85]

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.

 

If he's found a deserter then he'll be issued a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge. He won't be able to access government help (VA) if so. That's not saying he couldn't receive help elsewhere though. He'd just have to pay for it unless he found professionals willing to work with him pro bono.

[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.

 

If he's found a deserter then he'll be issued a bad conduct or dishonorable discharge. He won't be able to access government help (VA) if so. That's not saying he couldn't receive help elsewhere though. He'd just have to pay for it unless he found professionals willing to work with him pro bono.

 

 

If the military finds he was a deserter, then so be it. I'm just refusing to allow political hacks from either side dictate how I should feel about this. This is a military issue and they can handle it.

[Whistlebritches]

 

Obama also still has the problem with Gitmo. This was a big campaign promise that he was going to close it down. I honestly think he made all the accusatory statements about how horrible Bush was for having Gitmo in the first place. He then got into office and saw the classified intel about the people there and said....."Oh sh#t". So, closing that down has mysteriously been put on the back burner and forgotten. BUT, he still has these guys down there and some maybe they really don't think they even need to keep anymore.

 

 

It's certainly worthy of it's own thread and I don't want to derail this one but Obama can't close Gitmo because the funding to do so was denied by Congress. I have doubts he actually wants it closed down but as long as Congress withholds funding he has an easy out.

 

Also, what the hell do you do with the prisoners?

[wildman]

the thing that puzzles me is that Bowe is still alive. All of the ones taken from the Taliban that I know of were killed shortly after being captured. So unless there is some stories that I don't know about, there would be something more to why he's still alive.

[Junior]

 

Obama also still has the problem with Gitmo. This was a big campaign promise that he was going to close it down. I honestly think he made all the accusatory statements about how horrible Bush was for having Gitmo in the first place. He then got into office and saw the classified intel about the people there and said....."Oh sh#t". So, closing that down has mysteriously been put on the back burner and forgotten. BUT, he still has these guys down there and some maybe they really don't think they even need to keep anymore.

 

 

Not to derail the thread, but that's really not the situation.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/guantanamo-bay-how-the-white-house-lost-the-fight-to-close-it/2011/04/14/AFtxR5XE_story.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/14/guantanamo-bay-close_n_3438347.html

 

It's a complicated situation, but it wasn't for lack of interest on Obama's part. Shockingly enough, Congress has made it difficult for Obama to do something he's promised/intended to do.

[killer cacti]

He said in an email days before he walked off base in Afganistan that he was ashamed to be an American.

 

That's enough for me to leave his ass over there.

[carlfense]

 

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.

 

That's my hope. I'm glad that they brought him back to the US and now I hope that they conduct an impartial investigation into his conduct.

[carlfense]

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.

 

When I said that I wasn't talking about the ODS angle . . . I meant it. That said, now that you've written the bolded section I think that I was too hasty.

 

It is about Obama.

[carlfense]

I understand this but we all need to be outraged about this, one way or the other when the truth comes out.

No. The VA scandal that has now fallen off the radar behind the latest media/political driven hyped up story is far more worthy of outrage.

 

The Bergdahl story won't even be a historical footnote.

[carlfense]

I think that I've +1ed every BRB post in this thread.

[JJ Husker]

 

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.

 

When I said that I wasn't talking about the ODS angle . . . I meant it. That said, now that you've written the bolded section I think that I was too hasty.

 

It is about Obama.

 

I can't stress this enough- My outrage over this is not about Obama. And I don't appreciate having to make that statement to you more than once.

 

My outrage may be just as well placed with the ultra conservative source news accounts I've read of this. Or, maybe some people don't agree with my point of view that, if Bergdahl was a deserter, then f#*k him. I suppose it is also possible that the administration knew nothing of the desertion and all the decision making, to trade 5 Taliban for a deserter, fell upon lower level military members. Or, maybe he was not an anti-American deserter at all. I see 3 possible options, none of them impress me at all, and 2 of them really piss me off.

 

1- He was not an anti-American deserter and the people spinning this story in that direction need to be held accountable for spreading lies and innuendo. Shot or hung works for me.

 

2- He was a deserter and this fact was known or very strongly suspected before the trade. I don't care if this traces all the way up the line to Obama or not but, wherever the buck stops- fired, impeached, shot or hung works for me. That is how bad of a decision I feel trading 5 Taliban for 1 deserter would be.

 

3- He was a deserter and nobody involved in the swap arrangement knew this until immediately following the swap, even though it is apparent numerous people in his platoon knew about it and had been instructed to not discuss/mention it. This option hints at a total lack of institutional control by somebody pretty damn far up the chain but, maybe not Obama.

 

I'm sensing that some may not feel trading a deserter, whose actions likely caused his capture and the resulting loss of other American soldiers lives trying to rescue him, for 5 Taliban is all that disturbing. It bugs the hell out of me. But please don't try to turn your/others lack of anger at this situation as just me being anti Obama. You could not be more wrong if you tried.