With Honor And Distinction?
by Big Dog on Jun 3, 2014 at 11:22 Military
SGT Bowe Bergdahl is back in US control and I am happy for him and for his family because he is home. He is an American citizen and it is good for him and his family that he is back.
However, Bergdahl is not a hero and he is not a Prisoner of War who happened to be repatriated. He deserted the military when he walked (or rode) out of the compound and into the wilderness. He was not captured while on a mission or on guard duty or even out on an authorized absence. He was captured because he left his unit without any intention of returning and he was captured by the Taliban.
Of this there is no doubt.
Sometime after midnight on June 30, 2009, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl left behind a note in his tent saying he had become disillusioned with the Army, did not support the American mission in Afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life. He slipped off the remote military outpost in Paktika Province on the border with Pakistan and took with him a soft backpack, water, knives, a notebook and writing materials, but left behind his body armor and weapons — startling, given the hostile environment around his outpost. New York Times
Members of our military had to stop their missions to look for this guy and some of those brave troops died while doing so. The Pentagon and the political hacks can say otherwise but the people who had their boots on the ground are saying something different and they, above all others, know what went on.
Bergdahl is in a military hospital recovering from his ordeal, an ordeal of his own making, and will soon be reunited with his family. He needs time to heal. He needs time to acclimate and he needs time with his family.
Then he needs to be held accountable for what he did. The military must investigate what he did and must be honest with the citizens of this nation, particularly those who serve and who have served, about the circumstances. If he is found to be a deserter, and there is a lot of evidence to show just that, then he needs to be punished. Yes, he was held captive for five years but that was because of what HE did.
[note]Military members know we are not bargaining chips and that we will not be negotiated free. Troops will try to rescue us but we will not be the objects of negotiations. That is just part of the package. But Obama played it differently in order to put the VA scandal on the back burner. He thought he would be hailed as a wonderful guy for getting a deserter back but most are not looking at it this way. He has left a Marine to rot in a Mexican prison while negotiating with terrorists over a deserter. One last thing. The Taliban murder captured soldiers. Why is Bergdahl alive?[/note]
All levels of government in this nation routinely hold people accountable for things they have done even though they have suffered hardship as a result of their own acts. If you rob a bank and run into traffic and get hit by a car ending up in a coma for six months they don’t say you had a hard enough time and let you go.
Bergdahl took a decision to walk away from his unit and he was captured because of that. Now that he is home he needs to be held accountable here for what he did.
He cost us a lot. Barack Obama negotiated with terrorists for his release and circumvented Congress to get it done. Obama broke the law to get Bergdahl back and in the process made it an even more dangerous place for us and particularly for our troops who will now be seen as bargaining chips.
Obama needed to put the VA scandal out of the news so he quickly acted on this deal (that has been in the works for some time) claiming that Bergdahl’s health was in question. Susan Rice said it so it must be true. This is the lie used to break the law and bypass Congress. The truth is this was politically motivated to refocus our attention from yet another Obama scandal (he learned well from Bill Clinton). I am surprised Rice did not just blame it all on a You Tube video.
Time will tell if the Pentagon has the testicular fortitude to do what is necessary to hold Bergdahl accountable. I would not hold my breath as the Pentagon has been turned into a paper tiger under Obama. It must be politically correct in order to serve its master. Given Obama’s love of the Muslim faith and given the Bergdahl family seems to be sympathetic to it, it is doubtful Obama will want to pursue any action against the deserter.
Many folks are angry at what Bergdahl did and at what Obama did to get him released. Going into a midterm election this will not sit well with voters. Obama won’t have to worry about the active duty folks because he will lose their ballots but millions of veterans will go to the polls.
Politics aside, Bergdahl must be given ample time to recover and then he MUST be held accountable.
He dishonored himself, his unit, the military and the nation (no wonder Obama negotiated for him) and he is a disgrace to the uniform he wears.
Susan Rice can say he served with honor and distinction but that does not make it so. The honorable are those who stayed and did their jobs in the face of danger.
As well as those who risked (or lost) their lives trying to rescue the man who turned his back on them and his nation.
Related:
McClatchy DC
I J Review
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: bergdahl, deserter, dishonor, lies, Obama, taliban, terrorists