Taliban trade U.S. Soldier for 5 in Gitmo

[NightTrain]

Notable comment from the article.

I'm thinking that Nadeem and his comrades probably knew the real story, just like the rest of the world did, when Bergdahl's dad was standing beside Obama and praising allah on international TV.

[jimnyc]

Crock of shit. He was a F'ing PRIVATE when we walked away. He didn't have any special skills; anything he MIGHT have taught them probably came from a Google Search.

Perhaps, but this guy is toast regardless, from what I'm seeing. There is way too much feedback from way too many people who know him, both before and after. Every single one of his mates that have spoken out thus far have more or less repeated the same thing - that it was only a matter of time before he bailed. That, along with the chatter is being reported, that an American was 2 towns away looking for someone who spoke English, that he wanted to meet with the Taliban. I would assume if this is true there would be a recording of it, but I don't know. But I wouldn't rule out what he knew as a private, the "bomb making skills" was only turning a cell phone or camera into a remote control. I don't find that too awfully hard to believe.

[jimnyc]

I'm thinking that Nadeem and his comrades probably knew the real story, just like the rest of the world did, when Bergdahl's dad was standing beside Obama and praising allah on international TV.

I do also find it a bit hard to believe that Bergdahl has forgotten how to more or less speak English, as his Dad stated.

[Little-Acorn]

"Swiftboating", in case you've forgotten, is the practice used when a soldier tells a lie or comes up with dubious claims. People who don't like such duplicity, then consult all the soldiers who were around him during the incident(s) in question, and ask them publicly what they saw and what happened, thoroughly debunking the lies and dubious claims.

The term came from John Kerry's campaign for President a long time ago. He made several highly dubious claims about his own service in Vietnam, when he was a member of a team of patrol boats called the "Swift Boats". So a large number of his own shipmates, and others who were on nearby boats with Kerry, formed a group called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth", and to a man told a very different story, discrediting Kerry's version of events.

Democrats, naturally, have been ranting ever since that a hundred or more U.S. Navy sailors were all liars, while Kerry was alone in telling the truth.

Now, as more and more of Bowe Bergdahl's fellow soldiers come forward to tell the truth about Bergdahl's questionable "hero" status, the same Democrats are starting the same ranting. Some things never change.

--------------------------------------------

Report: White House Accuses Soldiers Who Served with Bergdahl of 'Swift Boating' | The Weekly Standard

Report: White House Accuses Soldiers Who Served with Bergdahl of 'Swift Boating'

9:24 AM, Jun 4, 2014• By MARK HEMINGWAY

Appearing on the Today Show this morning, Chuck Todd reports that, in response to allegations of possible desertion by Bowe Bergdahl, White House sources are accusing the soldiers that served with him of "swift boating." Prior to the allegations made by those who served with Bergdahl, National Security Advisor Susan Rice had said Bergdahl served with "Honor and distinction." From the transcript of the Today Show:

Every [White House] aide I've talked to said they expected there to be controversy involving the decision to release five members of the taliban from gitmo, and the fact that this would then escalate that debate, which has been simmering for a good five years, which is what to do with those detainees, how do you release them, where do you release them. They did not expect this backlash on bergdahl himself. I've had a few aides describe it to me as we didn't know that they were going to swift boat Bergdahl. And that's a reference to that political fight back in 2004 over john kerry's military service, so there's some fighting words there.

[Gaffer]

Bergdaul was nothing more than a trigger puller in an outpost. He had no expertise in anything that has been reported so far, so he's of little actual interest other than when will he be tried for desertion. The things that take precedence are what was obama doing in afghan a week before the release? What deals were struck with qatar and the taliban? Why was all of this kept secret from congress and the CIA? Who are all the main players in this? Why did the army white wash all of this and have the soldiers sign nondisclosure statements following the disappearance?

We are talking criminality here at the highest level and congress needs to start impeachment proceedings as soon as possible. This is what happens when you have criminals running the country.

[Gaffer]

In other words they didn't expect people to come out and tell the truth. Which is the other definition of swift boating. All the political hay they expected to get out of this is nothing more than grass clipping in a plastic bag. They really need to get on their propaganda industry about this. The cat got out of the bag and it had kittens.

[aboutime]

"fj". No need for any of us to define anything for you. Whatever you ask. Consider yourself qualified to be, exactly what you ask. You and gabby must be sharing the same VACUUM between your ears. And the remedy for a vacuum is....NATA!

[Little-Acorn]

In other words they didn't expect people to come out and tell the truth. Which is the other definition of swift boating. All the political hay they expected to get out of this is nothing more than grass clipping in a plastic bag. They really need to get on their propaganda industry about this. The cat got out of the bag and it had kittens.

"Having kittens" hasn't started yet.
But it's about to.

[jimnyc]

They can call it whatever they like, but all of the stories seem consistent to me, and apparently they "swiftboated" this information back in 2009, before they were all shut up till he was found. What's going to matter most here is what the Army knew the days after his leaving, was all of this information from the soldiers relayed to those in authority at the time.

[NightTrain]

This article, if it can be proven, will demonstrate that Obama clearly orchestrated this swap to circumvent U.S. law to get what he wanted.

I suspect that he wanted a feel-good story about rescuing a POW to distract attention and mitigate the heat building over the VA scandal, and this end-run around Congress blew up in his face.

A military intelligence source also confirmed to Fox News that a second option -- involving the payment of a cash ransom for Bergdahl's freedom -- was pursued as late as December 2013.
The source said the goal was to reach out to Pakistan leadership with direct ties to the Taliban, and float the possibility of trading cash, instead of prisoners, for Bergdahl. That option, though, was put "on hold" in December when it was made clear the administration intended to pursue a prisoner swap.

That shows that they were exploring options, which is proper and legal. But when the U.S. Military & others said it would not be proper to proceed given the circumstances on Bergdahl's desertion (and probably the renouncement of American citizenship), the game changed to another end-run around rules and laws that Obama is infamous for.

Hell, even Hillary saw that this was a bad idea, and that speaks volumes.

According to Time magazine, the decision to proceed with the transfer was ultimately made among top officials on Obama's national security team.

Given past opposition to the plan, though, one unidentified official told Time: "This was out of the norm." The official said the White House and State Department had previously urged the military to "suck it up and salute."


Members of Congress who were first briefed on a possible trade more than two years ago voiced similar concerns.


House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday the administration "never satisfactorily answered" lawmakers' questions and concerns that surfaced from the beginning about the proposed trade. Further, Boehner alleged that the only reason the administration failed to notify Congress is "the administration knew it faced serious and sober bipartisan concern and opposition."

I think BamBam wanted a distraction.... and he got it, in spades.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...officials-say/

[aboutime]

This article, if it can be proven, will demonstrate that Obama clearly orchestrated this swap to circumvent U.S. law to get what he wanted.

I suspect that he wanted a feel-good story about rescuing a POW to distract attention and mitigate the heat building over the VA scandal, and this end-run around Congress blew up in his face.




That shows that they were exploring options, which is proper and legal. But when the U.S. Military & others said it would not be proper to proceed given the circumstances on Bergdahl's desertion (and probably the renouncement of American citizenship), the game changed to another end-run around rules and laws that Obama is infamous for.

Hell, even Hillary saw that this was a bad idea, and that speaks volumes.



I think BamBam wanted a distraction.... and he got it, in spades.


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...officials-say/

NightTrain. Only ONE WORD needed to describe, or identify what OBAMA did.

And that ONE WORD is...."POLITICS".

[Drummond]

I found it a bit strange for fj to be asking.. The concept that any American needs a definition of word TERRORIST is an alarming one.
So I thought maybe it was just a "Clintonian" response but even that had me baffled... -Tyr

Seems to me that a 'Clintonian' response best belongs in that era, Tyr.

I mean ... since those times, America has been given the sharpest, clearest, illustration possible of EXACTLY what terrorism is about, therefore, WHAT a terrorist IS. It's ridiculous to have, in this day and age, anyone on your side of the Pond somehow 'missing' the understanding that SURELY you all must have of them by now !!!!

I can imagine - just barely - that it might be possible to be so mired in trendy Leftie propaganda that said Leftie enthusiast becomes blinded to such things. But it'd surely take a particularly hardbitten Leftie type to manage such a dislocation from reality.

Bizarre.

Perhaps FJ is having a joke at our expense. Otherwise, this is off-the-chart weird.

[Drummond]

Seems to me that Obama's people are desperate to save face. Evidently they'll happily turn against Bergdahl's would-be 'comrades' as part of that effort.

And/or, could it be .. that Obama genuinely regards someone like Bergdahl to be more deserving of support than more loyal, reputable Service personnel ?

That's Lefties for you .....

[aboutime]

They can call it whatever they like, but all of the stories seem consistent to me, and apparently they "swiftboated" this information back in 2009, before they were all shut up till he was found. What's going to matter most here is what the Army knew the days after his leaving, was all of this information from the soldiers relayed to those in authority at the time.

JIM. I don't find it unusual that the former members of Bergdahl's army company are finally coming out.
Before I retired from the Navy in 1995. I signed several documents that were called something other than "NON-DISCLOSURE", due to the access I had to certain, classified documents, and guarded, critical equipment procedures.

If those men were forced to sign a NON-DISCLOSURE FORM that had set conditions. Such as unless Bergdahl died, or was returned. Which is the case.
Watch how many who support Obama begin to ACCUSE those men of FABRICATING their stories, and trying to Destroy them.
It happens all the time.
But...WE ALL KNOW. OBAMA AND COMPANY LIE.

Nothing NEW.

[NightTrain]

The accusations of 'swift boating' will go nowhere, because there are letters and notes from Bergdahl himself as to what his intentions were.

But it'll be funny to watch the knuckleheads try to run with it.