Bergdahl

I've held off on the Bowe Bergdahl issue for many reasons.  I have my own opinion -- I think he was at least a deserter -- but I decided that until more facts were in, any comment on my part would be premature.  It would appear that I undershot the mark.  Besides being a deserted, he may also have been a traitor.  We'll see what the court martial determines.

That he left his post is undeniable.  It's not like he was captured in combat.  The facts are pretty well known:  Bergdahl left his weapon and other gear at the base.  He sent some stuff home.  Then he walked to find Afghans in some weird attempt, so he claims, to resolve geopolitical matters far above his pay grade.  Six men died indirectly trying to find him.

He was in captivity for five years.  It is said that he was tortured.  That may well be true.  But unlike a soldier or Marine taken on the field of battle, Bergdahl almost enlisted for this, deluded that he was some peace emissary who was going to rectify all that was wrong in Afghanistan.

The administration made a horrible miscalculation, even at first blush.  It traded him for five high ranking Taliban commanders.  Only Mike Ditka's made a worse trade in recent memory.  The thinking, so it was said, is that we don't leave Americans behind.  Largely, that's true.  Even at the Chosin Reservoir the Marines brought out the bodies of their dead comrades in arctic conditions while under enemy fire along a narrow defile in the mountains.  But this was different.

Apparently, from new reports, it is being leaked that Bergdahl tried to get in touch with elements of the Russian mob in Uzbekistan, among other things.  More evidence supports the notion that besides being a deserter, Bergdahl may well have been a traitor.  Ironically, some of what is known about Bergdahl is coming from the sensitive materials leaked by Edward Snowden.  What's more, this information was collected by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service over the five years of Bergdahls' captivity.  That means that the White House, or elements within the White House, had to have known at a bare minimum that Bergdahl was, in terms of public relations, kryptonite.  Yet it trotted out its piñata who declared that Bergdahl served with honor and distinction.  This after Jay Carney, the disingenuous former White House spokesperson, uttered the same false words about Bergdahl.  And all the while, since 2009, the White House had to know that there were questions about Bergdahl's service that called into question those encomiums.

It's becoming more and more apparent that the administration used Bergdahl as a political pawn to boost his ratings with the American public while at the same time to keep a campaign promise to shut down Guantánamo by releasing five Taliban incarcerated there.  The Rose Garden ceremony at which the President made the announcement, flanked by Bergdahl's very relieved parents, was a photo opportunity that wasn't warranted.  The trade itself foreshadowed the now equally questionable Iran nuclear deal which, as more details emerge, seem to indicate that the optimism with which the administration announced this deal was misplaced, what with the Iranians publishing wildly differing details about the agreement.

The disrespect the Bergdahl fanfare shows for our men and women in uniform who are doing their jobs correctly is mindboggling.  That this administration touts a deserter over men who have given their lives for this country, making political hay while ignoring the dishonor with which Bergdahl served while allowing the VA mess to continue, not awarding Purple Hearts to those injured in the Ft. Hood shootings and cutting benefits to veterans is an affront to all for which this country stands.    It would be one thing if the administration truly didn't know about Bergdahl's service, but it is readily apparent that, like so many of the scandals that have plagued this administration, it turned a blind eye to it so that it could pat itself on the back publicly.  It should be ashamed of itself.

The truly sad part about this is that should the court martial result in a conviction for Bergdahl, the President could very well rub salt in the wound and pardon him in one of his final acts before he leaves the White House.  There would be no political ramifications for him at that point.

Just watch it happen.

(c) 2015 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles