I hate getting into politics in this forum because its one of the rare times I just want to rip somebodies head off...but Abyz...this is one of the best posts of the year. What happened to those people...I mean...Im going to leave it at that and this country is a bunch of horses...where are the blinders. How they got this guy out..and whats coming out about this guy..and how many men died trying to find him? Just do your homework folks...a true real life fucking disgrace..sorry for the language.
And notice how far Hillary is trying to distance herself from this clusterfuck. We have become such a disgrace with our foreign policy over the years it's sad. We are not respected by anyone, the real question is why does Qatar have such an interest in these guys being free? Obama is thanking the Qatari's but what is the real reason they wanted these 5 guys free?
It's not that hard to disarm the population if that's what you're trying to do. Britain and Germany have both done this successfully with a widely armed population at different points. It's getting the political will together to do it that is hard. Germany disarmed in 1919 and then in 1928 the politics got very shifty and guns were legalized again, leading up to the Brownshirts and Nazi rule. One of the first things the post-WWII government did was to ban handgun ownership again and Germany has had one of the lowest homicide rates in the world ever since. It's a simple fact. Lots of guns out there means lots of dead people.
Is the man a deserter or isn't he? Lets strip the politics away and look at what lies beneath. If he deserted, then Obama fckd up by making this trade. If not, then Obama should be congratulated for bringing home a POW. I hope all the OHaters out there remember all the other deals that presidents have made before this one. Obama won't be the last to make a deal like this either. As long as war is profitable and big business, there will always be POW's. POW's are in essence bargaining chips.
everything I've read says he's a deserter and wanted to denounce his citizenship. I guess the administration is now trying to claim that all the soldiers making these claims are psychopaths or something?
I have no clue what is going on based on what we're hearing. I do have a big question about how this guy stayed in that outfit as long as he did if everything they're saying about him is true. Do commanding officers in the US Army not have the ability to ship out people who abandon their posts repeatedly while making disloyal comments about the USA? There's something that's missing here and I can't figure it out. Anybody with experience in the Army want to help fill in the gaps for me on this? Is it normal to have guys apparently as screwed up as this guy is portrayed as being in your unit with no way to get rid of them?
From my own US Army experience, if you're acting in a manner such as this, he would have been disciplined in short order. More likely than not losing rank and being shipped home for a bad conduct discharge and perhaps additional charges. He would have been restricted to base or sent to a rear detention area as a temp hold until all the paperwork involved was completed. No way would he have been allowed to keep rank or even allowed off post.
Thanks for the reply. I was wondering a bit about the Sergeant thing also however a guy who served two tours in Afghanistan told me once that you got the promotion on your second tour as a formal way of recognizing your service if you hadn't already been promoted on your first.
My first thought, good deal. Now these bastards can get drilled by a drone instead of 3 hots and a cot. That was just a thought, but not without precedent, to say the least. Of course, its all just a first step toward closing down Gitmo. Thats the real goal, and on an accelerated timetable if Obama wants it done before his term ends. I don't think Bergdahl being a traitor was even part of the thought process, which is blowing up in their faces; exactly the opposite of the win/win the WH saw coming.
At the end of the day it may turn out that he wasn't a deserter who wanted to renounce his citizenship and 6 soldiers lost their lives searching for him after he deserted. I doubt it, but I guess it's possible. I think that's almost beside the point right now though. This should have gone through congress where hopefully someone would have bothered to do an ounce of research on the matter. The media dug this stuff up pretty quickly, I can't imagine it was all that difficult.
I would be shocked it he was not a deserter CMAN and whether Im a O fan or not, it makes no difference in this matter. I hope that's the truth..when it comes to stuff like this, you try to be honest because this has opened the door to some very dangerous times. If he was not a true deserter, the Administration would have had this out there tenfold already. It will not be the case. I for one, cant believe this was done. I truly cant believe that we would open ourselves up to possible hostage taking etc. You had past presidents..and to show Im not bias, Reagan for one who Im a fan of, that did also do the same..but not in this manor. This was like the mafia taking a hostage and holding him for ransom..a small group not a civil war. This WILL come back to haunt this country. Lets not even get into the 5 guys that were released. Has anyone seen the pictures of these guys? Are you kidding me? The only people that should feel happy about this is his parents. If it were my son? I would be delighted..and that's as honest as I can be. Other then that, its a disaster. While Im not a fan of this administration, lets not be hypocrites here. Both sides have done things behind the scenes that opposite view points could shred to death. This? Im speechless.
Prisoner exchanges have been a part of doing business for centuries and will continue to be no matter which political party is in power. Iran / Contra left a nasty taste in everybody at the time but it faded from public awareness just like this will. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they "chipped" these 5 guys like you would a puppy. Perhaps with tech far more sophisticated so they know exactly where they are at all times. Who knows, there may be a drone strike in their not too distant future.
and another thing CMAN that bothers me. Lets say he was a deserter...but an American and while we can all disagree yes or no, its so this administration to go out and make it close to a holiday for the government for what they did instead of just shutting up. Susan Rice was on the Sunday channels (the same Susan Rice who after Benghazi killings blamed it all on a video that was made portraying Islam in a distasteful way that was an outright lie) saying it was "an extraordinary day for America". I mean...are you kidding me? Just be quiet for hells sake.
Nobody ever gave this administration style points for being astute Jay. Some things just aren't in Obama's toolkit. They really don't know how to deal with embarrassments. This is where "No Drama Obama" has his achilles heel. Benghazi and now Bergdahl. Maybe Obama should just pass on anything starting with a "b". Clean up is perhaps the toughest job any presidential staffer could have. They're desperate to turn this into something positive and in doing so, only appear to be making things worse. I agree with you Jay. They should just STFU and let this thing play itself out. They also could have avoided all of this either by passing on the swap OR vetting more thoroughly, the POW they were swapping for. The last thing they wanted was to swap 6 high profile ALQ for 1 deserter. If they had planned on making him a hero, they better have a plan B ready.
Right now the information does not seem to be going in Bergdahls favor but while insiders may know the facts, the public doesn't. Another thing to consider is the abysmal job the military has done with the mental health of a huge portion of the forces sent overseas. Until we can be sure this man was not compromised by medical issues before his disappearance he must be given the benefit of doubt. The entire process of his repatriation falls into that category.
Agreed. Instead of making political hay one way or the other out of this, everyone should wait until all the facts come to light.
