What do y'all think of this Bergdahl thing?

[07Negative]

I've never served in the armed forces. I wanted too, but I kinda don't do well with authority. So I opted not to serve. I was told if I got a dishonorable discharge, I'd loose my 2A rights.

But on the political side of this stuff. There's all sorts of speculation going on. Some call the guy a coward, a traitor, a coo coo bird. While others are glad he's home and well.
I'm not sure how we got such a fair trade. 5 of their guys for one of ours? All I can say is, if I were in his place. I'd be glad they made the trade to save my arse.
I read Glenn Becks recent post about the situation. Is it just me or is Beck becoming unglued in his political speculation and opinions?

[abebehrmann]

I agree. I think people should wait until they know all the facts before going off and denigrating a member of our armed forces. I just know that if he were in my family, or if I were him, I would hope to get the benefit of the doubt before being drug through the mud and made into political fodder.

[4.3LXJ]

Whatever you think about the guy himself, there is still one thing to consider about this that doesn't involve him. Our fine prez, did another end run around Congress again. The Congressional people did not in any way want to do this trade and release five known top generals in the Taliban back into the war again. I know, Barrack said they won't get back in it. Are we really that stupid to believe them? And he did after all sign the law that said he had to consult Congress before doing this. That means more than mentioning it to Harry Reid. It means Congressional debate and voting and stuff like that. He broke the law again, once again proving he has no concept of the responsibility he has in keeping his oath of office.

[07Negative]

Steve, I think that's the biggest complaint many are saying. And I wonder. What, if anything will be done or said about it? I'm guessing everyone will turn a blind eye. And instead make the solder's actions out to be headline news. Put all the focus on the solders actions and dismiss the Prez

[4.3LXJ]

I am not so sure. I think this will be just one more scandal against progressives who like to skirt the law

[Firemanray]

20+ years ago I worked for the Texas prison system, we understood that the state does not negotiate in hostage situations. We had to accept the fact that we were considered dead until released alive. I cannot believe the feds negotiated such a pathetic deal for 1 soldier which at this point is questionable whether or not he was taken against his will.

The president apparently has now broken a law which he signed into effect only 6 months ago. Impeachment is appropriate at this point. There may be questions about the soldiers actions but the potus has made his actions perfectly clear and should be held accountable.

[ArmyGuy45]

President Obama broke the law bypassing Congress. A lot of Presidents have done this before but doesn't excuse it. President Obama said that we have a rule to bring every member of the military home. Rule vs Law. If I have a rule that 'no one will date my daughter'. Does that mean I can circumvent any law to fulfill that rule?

As for the video of the pick up, Glenn is right. It was sloppy. In a valley, no back up in the air to be seen and they didnt frisk him until he was at the helo.

I am glad we have an American home (though, if he is mentally an American is up for debate) but is the trade for 5 high level terrorist worth it? What about the Marine in Mexico, are we going to ignore him? Shall we trade? Did you know the trade for the 5 happened 5 days before we got the SGT B. We traded on the hopes they would give him to us and later said that we were going to get rid of those 5 anyways and were hoping we could get something for them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3kDFGbk1ExM

[bluedragon436]

I think it is complete BS with the bypassing of Congress.. Other then that.. I'm a member of a SF group on FB (as I fly and move many different groups of them I've been invited)... But anyways, a few of them were at the FOB that Bergdahl, (we'll say was captured from), anyways their accounts of what went on.. was that Bergdahl was talking craziness about wanting to be a muslim and wanting to support their cause in this war, as well as left behind all kinds of journals stating such... And they said that he left the FOB with no weapon, no armor, nothing but a few bottles of water and headed out.. so my way of looking at it is, he either wanted to be captured, he wanted to go and fight & support them... or he is just one amazingly stupid MF'er!! Either way my way of looking at it is, I'm glad that we have another American back home (whether he wants to be or not, that is a different story)... But I think he should def be investigated and held accountable for his actions, whether they be what the Prez wants to admit happened or not.. as negative as it might be to have to admit that a soldier defected and that we traded 5 terrorist generals for him (which is against many rules/laws of the US in the first place).. I know there were quite a few folks that were injured and even killed looking for Bergdahl after his disappearance from the FOB, and no one hears about them, or why they were uselessly killed over this guy...

Glad he's home, and has gotten to see his family, and they know he is still alive and now safe.... Now put is ass in prison @ Levenworth, until a full & honest investigation can be completed... Military way guilty until proven innocent!! We have quite a few patriots that are in there for killing a Taliban or al-Qaeda member in the process of protecting themselves and their fellow troops out on the battlefield.. And they are being held without any court or real investigation.. Even when proof that they were in fact only guilty of following the ROE and protecting themselves and other valuable assists of the US Govt., the Govt. which now has turned it's back to them and is screwing them over...

[XJ Wheeler]

I thought we didn't trade or negotiate with terrorists, even if the president himself were captured. Its great to know he is home but others aren't because of him and now there are more of our enemies out there to do more harm and kill more of our civilians and service members. These laws and procedures are in place for a reason. Now the taliban have confirmed that they now can capture our soldiers and use them to get what they want.

[4.3LXJ]

This isn't over yet. Here is an article from the Washington Times.

Reported details of the high-profile prisoner swap that freed Bowe Bergdahl over the weekend are not telling the full story, according to a high-level intelligence official involved in efforts to find and rescue the Army sergeant.
The Haqqani Network, a terrorist group operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, freed Bergdahl on Saturday after holding him captive for five years in exchange for the release of five Guantanamo Bay prison inmates.
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A senior intelligence official with intimate knowledge of the years-long effort to locate and rescue Bergdahl told the Washington Free Beacon that the details of that exchange do not add up.
The official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press, speculated that a cash ransom was paid to the Haqqani Network to get the group to free the prisoner.
The Obama administration taliban-bergdahl-trade-officials-say/” target=”_blank”>reportedly considered offering cash for his release as late as December 2013. The State Department has repeatedly refused to say whether the deal that released Bergdahl involved any cash payment.
The ransom plan was reportedly abandoned, but the intelligence official insisted that there is reason to believe that cash changed hands as part of the deal.
“The Haqqanis could give a rat’s ass about prisoners,” the official said, referring to the Haqqani Network, a designated terrorist group in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the five Guantanamo Bay prisoners who were freed in exchange for Bergdahl’s release.
“The people that are holding Bergdahl want[ed] cash and someone paid it to them,” he said.
SEE ALSO: Obama defends deal with Taliban to free only American POW in Afghanistan
The theory relies in large measure on a distinction that has been lost in much of the press coverage of the Berdahl deal. A number of news reports on the circumstances surrounding the prisoner exchange have used “Haqqani” and “Taliban” interchangeably.
Experts say that obscures very real differences between the two groups that are key to understanding the deal that freed Bergdahl.
The Taliban is an ideologically committed group, they say, while the Haqqani Network is better understood as a tribal crime syndicate using unrest in the region not to advance an Islamist agenda but to further own financial and political interests.
“When Westerners talk [about the] Taliban, we tend to use it as a generic term,” said American Enterprise Institute scholar Michael Rubin, a former Middle East advisor to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. “Afghans are more likely to talk about the Haqqani Network versus the Quetta Shura [also known as the Afghan Taliban] versus the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.”
Four of the five prisoners released from Guantanamo were top Taliban commanders. One western diplomat taliban-say-they-won-big-with-bergdahl-swap.html” target=”_blank”>said their release was “like moving the whole Quetta Shura to Qatar.”
Only one of the freed terrorists, Nabi Omari, was part of the Haqqani Network. But the presence of other more senior Haqqani prisoners at Guantanamo has observers wondering whether the network’s goal in the exchange was actually the release of Gitmo prisoners.
“One of these things doesn’t belong,” the intelligence official said. “If you were to put one of these [freed Taliban prisoners] with Haqqani in a room together, they’d beat the shit out of each other.”

He compared the relationship between the two groups to two sports teams. “You’ve got two teams that both do the same thing but their players are different in how they function,” he explained. “Why would the Redskins pay for a draft pick that goes to the Miami Dolphins? They wouldn’t.”
The official cited his work over the course of a decade dealing with hostage situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Haqqani, he said, “benefits zero from the prisoner exchange. … Based on 10 years of working with those guys, the only thing that would make them move Bergdahl is money.”
The official is not the first to suggest that a ransom was likely paid. Oliver North, who was involved in the Iran-Contra scandal that freed American hostages in Tehran in exchange for the sale of American weapons to Iran, insisted on Wednesday that cash changed hands.
“Whether the Qataris paid it, or some big oil sheik, or somebody used our petrodollars, there was a ransom paid in cash for each one of them, my guess somewhere in the round numbers of $5 or 6 million to get Bergdahl freed,” North Bergdahl” target=”_blank”>told Newsmax.
Rubin agreed with the assessment, again citing the distinction between the Taliban and the Haqqani Network.
“The groups do have links, but if Bergdahl was held by Haqqani and we released Quetta Shura, it seems Bergdahl’s captors were seeking something other than the Taliban prisoners, got paid off, and Obama simply used the trade as an excuse to release master terrorists from Gitmo,” Rubin said.
The theory has not been confirmed—though State has yet to deny it either—but the senior intelligence official expressed concern that the United States may have “enriched a terrorist network.”
“We just funded them for the next 10 years is my guess,” he said.

[cantab27]

They will line them there 5 swappies and drone there axx at some stage ... Ray prison guard .. Now that's how I know your face ....

[BlueXJ]

Well our pres. defiantly broke the law and that is grounds for impeachment by it's self. As far as money paid in ransom I think any way that the pres. can use to finance his brother Muslims he will use. The 5 that were released were probably going to be executed so that means the pres. also was consorting with the enemy, a second impeachable offence.

[Mudderoy]

I'm glad we got our soldier back, no two ways about it. Do I think it was wise do deal with terrorists, hell no! Do I think this soldier should be investigated and prosecuted if necessary, yes!

[Firemanray]

They will line them there 5 swappies and drone there axx at some stage ... Ray prison guard .. Now that's how I know your face ....

You make funnies, I've ran face to face with at least 3 of them fools in the last 20 years. Every one of them recognized me but had no idea where they knew me from. One works at a local business that I frequent.

Back on subject, the POTUS should be impeached for many crimes he's committed but that won't happen as long as the libs or in control of the Senate.

[07Negative]

I read that article Steve. Great post

[abebehrmann]

Let's not blame this on Islamic people. Islamic terrorists are about as Muslim as the Westboro Baptist Church is Christian.

[bluedragon436]

Let's not blame this on Islamic people. Islamic terrorists are about as Muslim as the Westboro Baptist Church is Christian.

I agree with that... It is one of the things I've been trying to point out to lots of people that badmouth Muslims because of what these extremists have done!!

[WhiteDevil1311]

Thats true however you kind of have your guard up around them at all times due to the jihad tactics of using womens clothing and employing children to do their dirt. Its our vietnam, the VC did the same ish during our parents and grandparents younger days. There is good in all people.

An extremist muslim is really no different then any other extremist. Christian extremists are the worst.


Edit-
As a former serviceman and being trained by the same bosses Bergdahl was.....you dont leave your post ever. He walked off. He went AWOL. He leaked.

[cpttuna]

there had to have been an investigation by his unit when he went missing. basically he had to have been carried as MIA or AWOL. Since he was promoted while in captivity, his records were not flagged. However, on last night news I hear his promotion to E-6 and back pay are being withheld till things are straightened out. This would have to mean his records have been red flagged. Why now?????????????????????????????????????????

[WhiteDevil1311]

Army General is investigating currently. There was an investigation that was inconclusive due to him being MIA/AWOL and his units stating he walked away from his post.

What his father is behaving like and his past behavior its very very possible he did just walk away

[WhiteDevil1311]

Now?

Notice how something ALWAYS come up when heat is on another topic such as benghazi and this trade was straight up crap. This guy in the white house seems to think he is supreme law over this land and what he says goes.