US Soldier Freed From Captivity in Afghanistan

[Mustang]

Sounds like you're an admirer of the tactics of the Taliban. Maybe that's why people like you are so quick to believe their propaganda videos.

Nothing beats the white House photo-op or Rice's quote on Bergdahl serving with honor and distinction!

The GOP could hardly come up with better propaganda soundbites than that.

Seriously, wtf were they thinking?

Obama doesn't get to pick and choose the parents of an American POW or dictate to the father whether it might be better for Obama's image if the father shaved and cut his hair. To his credit, Obama did not hesitate to go on camera with them. He certainly could have chosen a different way to address the press if he wanted to. Considering the RW love for Ted Nugent and Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson (both of whom are men who not only could stand a little grooming, but also make outrageous statements on a pretty regular basis), I wouldn't think that would be such a big deal to conservatives.

As for Rice's comments about Bergdahl serving with honor and distinction, my guess is that she didn't know that the term "distinction" usually refers to medals or awards of some kind. But that doesn't detract from the fact that Bergdahl was, from all reports I've seen, a soldier in good standing with the military prior to his capture.

 

[1776]

Here are the facts...

1) This scumbag was a deserter and possibly a traitor after choosing to join with the Taliban and accepting their beliefs.

2) His father is a nutjob and is now collaborating with the Taliban here trying to free them from GITMO.

3) Obama is an idiot that fell for the trap believing he would be able to cover up the other scandals with this "trade" of a traitor for 5 Taliban LEADERS..or Obama is ok with helping the enemy.

 

[Mustang]

Here are the facts...

1) This scumbag was a deserter and possibly a traitor after choosing to join with the Taliban and accepting their beliefs.

2) His father is a nutjob and is now collaoborating with the Taliban here trying to free them from GITMO.

3) Obama is an idiot that fell for the trap believing he would be able to cover up the other scandals with this "trade" of a traitor for 5 Taliban LEADERS..or Obama is ok with helping the enemy.

Amazing how you can take a few sketchy known facts and embellish them to the extent that you can take the word of the Taliban and believe the worst about an American soldier. The Taliban has no qualms about lying to you in order to undermine the war effort here at home. Your willingness to turn your back on an American soldier only serves to reveal your anti-American sentiments.

Congratulations on being recruited into the ranks of the fifth columnists.

 

[Meathead]

Here are the facts...

1) This scumbag was a deserter and possibly a traitor after choosing to join with the Taliban and accepting their beliefs.

2) His father is a nutjob and is now collaoborating with the Taliban here trying to free them from GITMO.

3) Obama is an idiot that fell for the trap believing he would be able to cover up the other scandals with this "trade" of a traitor for 5 Taliban LEADERS..or Obama is ok with helping the enemy.

Amazing how you can a few sketchy known facts and embellish them to the extent that you can take the word of the Taliban and believe the worst about an American soldier. The Taliban has no qualms about lying to you in order to undermine the war effort here at home. Your willingness to turn your back on an American soldier only serves to reveal your anti-American sentiments.

Congratulations on being recruited into the ranks of the fifth columnists.

There is little doubt here. This was a major clusterfuck on the part of the administration. When I say "major", it pales in comparison to Benghazi, Obamacare, IRS and the assortment of other legacies of Obama's admistration.

 

[1776]

Shitstain....he is a deserter, his platoon said so.

Even if he wasn't a deserter and was captured outside the wire, leaving the wire without his weapon and telling someone....then getting captured is all criminal actions punishable by the UCMJ.

No matter how you spin it, shitstain.....Obama traded a deserter at a minimum and a traitor at worst for 5 high level Taliban leaders that legit soldiers died/wounded in the act of hunting them down and capturing them alive.

Scum like you don't deserve to live in a country protected by those troops.

Here are the facts...

1) This scumbag was a deserter and possibly a traitor after choosing to join with the Taliban and accepting their beliefs.

2) His father is a nutjob and is now collaoborating with the Taliban here trying to free them from GITMO.

3) Obama is an idiot that fell for the trap believing he would be able to cover up the other scandals with this "trade" of a traitor for 5 Taliban LEADERS..or Obama is ok with helping the enemy.

Amazing how you can take a few sketchy known facts and embellish them to the extent that you can take the word of the Taliban and believe the worst about an American soldier. The Taliban has no qualms about lying to you in order to undermine the war effort here at home. Your willingness to turn your back on an American soldier only serves to reveal your anti-American sentiments.

Congratulations on being recruited into the ranks of the fifth columnists.

 

[Mustang]

Here are the facts...

1) This scumbag was a deserter and possibly a traitor after choosing to join with the Taliban and accepting their beliefs.

2) His father is a nutjob and is now collaoborating with the Taliban here trying to free them from GITMO.

3) Obama is an idiot that fell for the trap believing he would be able to cover up the other scandals with this "trade" of a traitor for 5 Taliban LEADERS..or Obama is ok with helping the enemy.

Amazing how you can a few sketchy known facts and embellish them to the extent that you can take the word of the Taliban and believe the worst about an American soldier. The Taliban has no qualms about lying to you in order to undermine the war effort here at home. Your willingness to turn your back on an American soldier only serves to reveal your anti-American sentiments.

Congratulations on being recruited into the ranks of the fifth columnists.

There is little doubt here. This was a major clusterfuck on the part of the administration. When I say "major", it pales in comparison to Benghazi, Obamacare, IRS and the assortment of other legacies of Obama's admistration.

Little doubt? There's plenty of doubt.

That means that all the facts are not known. Consequently, it might be partly true, and it might very well be completely false. We don't KNOW. It also just so happens to be extremely likely that Bergdahl was tortured and/or subjected to mock executions. Since the Taliban have been known to be completely ruthless, even with their own countrymen, and considering the fact that Bergdahl was all alone, he almost certainly did what he thought he had to do in order to stay alive. You know what that mean? that means that a sorry little anti-American fuck like YOU is in no position to judge Sgt Bergdahl.

 

[Camp]

Here are the facts...

1) This scumbag was a deserter and possibly a traitor after choosing to join with the Taliban and accepting their beliefs.

2) His father is a nutjob and is now collaoborating with the Taliban here trying to free them from GITMO.

3) Obama is an idiot that fell for the trap believing he would be able to cover up the other scandals with this "trade" of a traitor for 5 Taliban LEADERS..or Obama is ok with helping the enemy.

Amazing how you can a few sketchy known facts and embellish them to the extent that you can take the word of the Taliban and believe the worst about an American soldier. The Taliban has no qualms about lying to you in order to undermine the war effort here at home. Your willingness to turn your back on an American soldier only serves to reveal your anti-American sentiments.

Congratulations on being recruited into the ranks of the fifth columnists.

There is little doubt here. This was a major clusterfuck on the part of the administration. When I say "major", it pales in comparison to Benghazi, Obamacare, IRS and the assortment of other legacies of Obama's admistration.

Exactly, another bullshit attempt by the extreme rw to make issue's where none exist.

 

[Meathead]

Amazing how you can a few sketchy known facts and embellish them to the extent that you can take the word of the Taliban and believe the worst about an American soldier. The Taliban has no qualms about lying to you in order to undermine the war effort here at home. Your willingness to turn your back on an American soldier only serves to reveal your anti-American sentiments.

Congratulations on being recruited into the ranks of the fifth columnists.

There is little doubt here. This was a major clusterfuck on the part of the administration. When I say "major", it pales in comparison to Benghazi, Obamacare, IRS and the assortment of other legacies of Obama's admistration.

Little doubt? There's plenty of doubt.

That means that all the facts are not known. Consequently, it might be partly true, and it might very well be completely false. We don't KNOW. It also just so happens to be extremely likely that Bergdahl was tortured and/or subjected to mock executions. Since the Taliban have been known to be completely ruthless, even with their own countrymen, and considering the fact that Bergdahl was all alone, he almost certainly did what he thought he had to do in order to stay alive. You know what that mean? that means that a sorry little anti-American fuck like YOU is in no position to judge Sgt Bergdahl.

Fail. No doubt. All the idiocies in the world will still leave no doubt.

There is something wrong with you. If you cannot grasp that then no one can help you.

 

[Slyhunter]

Liberals don't care about the truth. They only care about protecting their terrorist in Chief.

 

[SFC Ollie]

If the truth hurts Obama then we may never know the truth.........

 

[Mustang]

There is little doubt here. This was a major clusterfuck on the part of the administration. When I say "major", it pales in comparison to Benghazi, Obamacare, IRS and the assortment of other legacies of Obama's admistration.

Little doubt? There's plenty of doubt.

That means that all the facts are not known. Consequently, it might be partly true, and it might very well be completely false. We don't KNOW. It also just so happens to be extremely likely that Bergdahl was tortured and/or subjected to mock executions. Since the Taliban have been known to be completely ruthless, even with their own countrymen, and considering the fact that Bergdahl was all alone, he almost certainly did what he thought he had to do in order to stay alive. You know what that mean? that means that a sorry little anti-American fuck like YOU is in no position to judge Sgt Bergdahl.

Fail. No doubt. All the idiocies in the world will still leave no doubt.

There is something wrong with you. If you cannot grasp that then no one can help you.

Most smart people learn something when they're relatively young even if it takes more than one event to make a permanent impression in order to get the lesson to stick.

It's this: There's a monumental difference between believing something and knowing something. Too many people can't tell the difference and think that believing something means it somehow must be true. Or why else would they believe it, right? Unfortunately, some people learn the lesson the hard way. It happens when they allow their beliefs to affect their judgement. Bernie Madoff investors come to mind. Or the people who trust someone blindly or others who are too quick to jump to conclusions. But hey, everyone gets burned sooner or later in their personal life or in their business dealings of one kind or another. There's probably no way to avoid that.

But the case of Sgt Bergdahl is different. He was an American POW who was held for five years and has yet to tell his story. Any American who can't or won't withhold judgement in his case and instead chooses to condemn him while trusting the Taliban is NOT a real American in my book. And all their talk about patriotism is little more than empty rhetoric that's as easy to say as the words "I love you" which don't hold much water either if the person who says those words is abusive to the person they say they love.

So, if you and all these other judgmental conservatives want anyone to take you seriously about your claim to love the men who serve the nation, you'll withhold your judgement. Otherwise you're little more than anti-American assholes who care far more about scoring political points against a president you don't like than you ever cared for the country as a whole and/or the men who serve in uniform.

 

[1776]

Uh idiot....the US military didn't list him as a POW.

Little doubt? There's plenty of doubt.

That means that all the facts are not known. Consequently, it might be partly true, and it might very well be completely false. We don't KNOW. It also just so happens to be extremely likely that Bergdahl was tortured and/or subjected to mock executions. Since the Taliban have been known to be completely ruthless, even with their own countrymen, and considering the fact that Bergdahl was all alone, he almost certainly did what he thought he had to do in order to stay alive. You know what that mean? that means that a sorry little anti-American fuck like YOU is in no position to judge Sgt Bergdahl.

Fail. No doubt. All the idiocies in the world will still leave no doubt.

There is something wrong with you. If you cannot grasp that then no one can help you.

Most smart people learn something when they're relatively young even if it takes more than one event to make a permanent impression in order to get the lesson to stick.

It's this: There's a monumental difference between believing something and knowing something. Too many people can't tell the difference and think that believing something means it somehow must be true. Or why else would they believe it, right? Unfortunately, some people learn the lesson the hard way. It happens when they allow their beliefs to affect their judgement. Bernie Madoff investors come to mind. Or the people who trust someone blindly or others who are too quick to jump to conclusions. But hey, everyone gets burned sooner or later in their personal life or in their business dealings of one kind or another. There's probably no way to avoid that.

But the case of Sgt Bergdahl is different. He was an American POW who was held for five years and has yet to tell his story. Any American who can't or won't withhold judgement in his case and instead chooses to condemn him while trusting the Taliban is NOT a real American in my book. And all their talk about patriotism is little more than empty rhetoric that's as easy to say as the words "I love you" which don't hold much water either if the person who says those words is abusive to the person they say they love.

So, if you and all these other judgmental conservatives want anyone to take you seriously about your claim to love the men who serve the nation, you'll withhold your judgement. Otherwise you're little more than anti-American assholes who care far more about scoring political points against a president you don't like than you ever cared for the country as a whole and/or the men who serve in uniform.

 

[Meathead]

Little doubt? There's plenty of doubt.

That means that all the facts are not known. Consequently, it might be partly true, and it might very well be completely false. We don't KNOW. It also just so happens to be extremely likely that Bergdahl was tortured and/or subjected to mock executions. Since the Taliban have been known to be completely ruthless, even with their own countrymen, and considering the fact that Bergdahl was all alone, he almost certainly did what he thought he had to do in order to stay alive. You know what that mean? that means that a sorry little anti-American fuck like YOU is in no position to judge Sgt Bergdahl.

Fail. No doubt. All the idiocies in the world will still leave no doubt.

There is something wrong with you. If you cannot grasp that then no one can help you.

Most smart people learn something when they're relatively young even if it takes more than one event to make a permanent impression in order to get the lesson to stick.

It's this: There's a monumental difference between believing something and knowing something. Too many people can't tell the difference and think that believing something means it somehow must be true. Or why else would they believe it, right? Unfortunately, some people learn the lesson the hard way. It happens when they allow their beliefs to affect their judgement. Bernie Madoff investors come to mind. Or the people who trust someone blindly or others who are too quick to jump to conclusions. But hey, everyone gets burned sooner or later in their personal life or in their business dealings of one kind or another. There's probably no way to avoid that.

But the case of Sgt Bergdahl is different. He was an American POW who was held for five years and has yet to tell his story. Any American who can't or won't withhold judgement in his case and instead chooses to condemn him while trusting the Taliban is NOT a real American in my book. And all their talk about patriotism is little more than empty rhetoric that's as easy to say as the words "I love you" which don't hold much water either if the person who says those words is abusive to the person they say they love.

So, if you and all these other judgmental conservatives want anyone to take you seriously about your claim to love the men who serve the nation, you'll withhold your judgement. Otherwise you're little more than anti-American assholes who care far more about scoring political points against a president you don't like than you ever cared for the country as a whole and/or the men who serve in uniform.

What waste of self-righteousness that no one will appreciate. Good luck.

 

[SFC Ollie]

Can we believe that the Army was correct in it's investigation 4 years ago that PFC Bergdahl walked off his base?

 

[Kondor3]

Amazing how you can a few sketchy known facts and embellish them to the extent that you can take the word of the Taliban and believe the worst about an American soldier. The Taliban has no qualms about lying to you in order to undermine the war effort here at home. Your willingness to turn your back on an American soldier only serves to reveal your anti-American sentiments.

Congratulations on being recruited into the ranks of the fifth columnists.

There is little doubt here. This was a major clusterfuck on the part of the administration. When I say "major", it pales in comparison to Benghazi, Obamacare, IRS and the assortment of other legacies of Obama's admistration.

Exactly, another bullshit attempt by the extreme rw to make issue's where none exist.

Where none exists?

The President of the United States has just negotiated with terrorists.

That breaks with precedent, and sets new and dangerous ones.

The President's actions may very well result in new dangers for future American POWs.

The President's unwise actions were undertaken on behalf of a soldier of questionable honor.

Multiple members of the soldier's peer group have charged him with desertion, in the court of public opinion.

If the soldier is eventually charged with misconduct, up to an including desertion, then that will make the President's actions look even more unwise than they already are perceived, if that is even possible.

"Where non exists" (where no issues exist)?

Wrong.

Even if Bergdahl is as pure as the driven snow and completely innocent...

We are still left with a President who has just negotiated with terrorists.

This is not a good thing.

We have PLENTY of issues to deal with now, even if Bergdahl IS completely innocent.

 

[HenryBHough]

I believe He thinks of it as His just having set a new minimum wage all on his own without Congress inhibiting his little muse. Minimum Wage for Terrorists Executive Order of 2014.

 

[Kondor3]

Bowe Bergdahl said he was tortured, kept in a cage by Taliban, U.S. officials say

BY KAREN DEYOUNG June 8 at 3:46 PM - carried by the Washington Post

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has told his doctors and debriefers that he was repeatedly tortured by his Taliban captors and was kept in a cage for extended periods after twice trying to escape, according to U.S. officials familiar with initial reports on Bergdahl’s condition.

The officials cautioned that no conclusions have been reached on how Bergdahl was treated during nearly five years of captivity, and they said a definitive assessment of accounts from a young man whose psychological condition is fragile may never be possible.

What does seem clear, from intelligence reports over the years and accounts in addition to Bergdahl’s own, is that he was frequently moved while in captivity and was traded among various groups of militants, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the closely held reports.

Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said in a statement that it would “not comment on discussions that Sgt. Bergdahl is having with the professionals who are providing him medial and reintegration care” and that it would “conduct a comprehensive review to learn the circumstances of Sgt. Bergdahl’s disappearance and captivity. . . . Our focus remains on providing him with the care he needs.”

Bergdahl, who was exchanged May 31 for five Taliban detainees being held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, remains at a U.S. military medical center in Germany. He will eventually be transferred to a medical center in San Antonio, where he will gradually be reunited with his family.

Officials believe that for most of his captivity, he was held by members of the Haqqani network, a Taliban-allied group of Afghans based in Pakistan’s western tribal region.

“I think there are going to be a lot of things that Bergdahl tells the Army and the medical folks that he’s talking to now that is going to be very difficult to validate,” Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

...


The administration initially said the exchange was urgent because they believed that Bergdahl’s health had deteriorated to the point that his death could have been imminent. Officials have since said their greatest fear was that his value to his captors was rapidly diminishing after three years of sporadic and unsuccessful negotiations and as the U.S. combat withdrawal from Afghanistan drew near.

“When Bergdahl was let go, what we were told was . . . he was in poor health and they were concerned that if they did not make this exchange that his life would be in danger as a result of bad health,” Chambliss said. “Well, no intelligence supported that.”

“And now they come back, and because he is in decent health, considering where he’s been, they’ve changed their story,” he added.

Both Chambliss and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Intelligence Committee, who appeared on the same program, questioned the administration’s decision not to inform select members of Congress in advance of the exchange, which took place in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border.

...

Feinstein said she and Chambliss have been briefed many times on classified operations and were sworn to secrecy. “We have never violated that,” she said. “But at least you have some knowledge and you can make some comment. That’s never been the case with this particular situation. So it hits us as a real surprise.”

...

Bowe Bergdahl said he was tortured, kept in a cage by Taliban, U.S. officials say - The Washington Post

 

[Mustang]

Fail. No doubt. All the idiocies in the world will still leave no doubt.

There is something wrong with you. If you cannot grasp that then no one can help you.

Most smart people learn something when they're relatively young even if it takes more than one event to make a permanent impression in order to get the lesson to stick.

It's this: There's a monumental difference between believing something and knowing something. Too many people can't tell the difference and think that believing something means it somehow must be true. Or why else would they believe it, right? Unfortunately, some people learn the lesson the hard way. It happens when they allow their beliefs to affect their judgement. Bernie Madoff investors come to mind. Or the people who trust someone blindly or others who are too quick to jump to conclusions. But hey, everyone gets burned sooner or later in their personal life or in their business dealings of one kind or another. There's probably no way to avoid that.

But the case of Sgt Bergdahl is different. He was an American POW who was held for five years and has yet to tell his story. Any American who can't or won't withhold judgement in his case and instead chooses to condemn him while trusting the Taliban is NOT a real American in my book. And all their talk about patriotism is little more than empty rhetoric that's as easy to say as the words "I love you" which don't hold much water either if the person who says those words is abusive to the person they say they love.

So, if you and all these other judgmental conservatives want anyone to take you seriously about your claim to love the men who serve the nation, you'll withhold your judgement. Otherwise you're little more than anti-American assholes who care far more about scoring political points against a president you don't like than you ever cared for the country as a whole and/or the men who serve in uniform.

What waste of self-righteousness that no one will appreciate. Good luck.

The self-righteous ones are the ones who look down their noses at Sgt Bergdahl and sit in judgement of him without even knowing his story. That attitude is made even more insulting when it comes from armchair warriors who've never served their country at all, let alone in a war zone.

 

[Slyhunter]

Most smart people learn something when they're relatively young even if it takes more than one event to make a permanent impression in order to get the lesson to stick.

It's this: There's a monumental difference between believing something and knowing something. Too many people can't tell the difference and think that believing something means it somehow must be true. Or why else would they believe it, right? Unfortunately, some people learn the lesson the hard way. It happens when they allow their beliefs to affect their judgement. Bernie Madoff investors come to mind. Or the people who trust someone blindly or others who are too quick to jump to conclusions. But hey, everyone gets burned sooner or later in their personal life or in their business dealings of one kind or another. There's probably no way to avoid that.

But the case of Sgt Bergdahl is different. He was an American POW who was held for five years and has yet to tell his story. Any American who can't or won't withhold judgement in his case and instead chooses to condemn him while trusting the Taliban is NOT a real American in my book. And all their talk about patriotism is little more than empty rhetoric that's as easy to say as the words "I love you" which don't hold much water either if the person who says those words is abusive to the person they say they love.

So, if you and all these other judgmental conservatives want anyone to take you seriously about your claim to love the men who serve the nation, you'll withhold your judgement. Otherwise you're little more than anti-American assholes who care far more about scoring political points against a president you don't like than you ever cared for the country as a whole and/or the men who serve in uniform.

What waste of self-righteousness that no one will appreciate. Good luck.

The self-righteous ones are the ones who look down their noses at Sgt Bergdahl and sit in judgement of him without even knowing his story. That attitude is made even more insulting when it comes from armchair warriors who've never served their country at all, let alone in a war zone.

He's a deserter, plain and simple.

 

[Mustang]

What waste of self-righteousness that no one will appreciate. Good luck.

The self-righteous ones are the ones who look down their noses at Sgt Bergdahl and sit in judgement of him without even knowing his story. That attitude is made even more insulting when it comes from armchair warriors who've never served their country at all, let alone in a war zone.

He's a deserter, plain and simple.

Conservatives are consistently the most judgmental people I've ever met. They're quick to condemn without the kind of evidence they themselves would insist on if they were accused of something. But in THIS country, the accused has a right to a trial BEFORE the verdict is rendered.

As I tried to explain to another one of the members of USMB conservative brain trust, desertion doesn't take place until after someone is AWOL for 30 days. If something or someone prevents a soldier from returning to duty within that time frame, the soldier is NOT guilty of desertion.

What that means for all the simpletons out there is this: A soldier could conceivably willingly go AWOL for a period of time and STILL not be a deserter if he's captured or otherwise prevented from returning to post.

Now, there isn't a person on this board who knows exactly what happened to Bergdahl in the 30 days after he left his post.

THEREFORE, you do NOT know what you are talking about. You're just another anti-American conservative who's willing to take the word of the Taliban in their propaganda video without even giving a fellow American who's a soldier of the United States Army a chance to defend himself before you pass judgment. That probably qualifies you as a fifth columnist if you insist on undermining America which is exactly the kind of thing that the Taliban is hoping you'll do.