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US soldier freed from captivity in Afghanistan

Capster78 said:
You don't think that it is highly doubtfull he will be punished based on the welcome he received when he was brought back? You think the President and his Administration would willfully commit political suicide?
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there is no concrete evidence confirming he intended to defect, apart from speculation.
 
APACHERAT said:
We use words like DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY and Obama and the entire White House staff go scrambling looking for a dictionary.
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Whereas on the Right it's "Duty, Honor, Country, and let's go invade a nation that presents no threat to America and is not allied with those who attacked America!"

No thank you, AR, after what y'all got us into under Bush 43 (meaning that ALL of you decided to ignore Bush 41's warnings), y'all have NO room to talk when it comes to foreign policy, much less the matter of when we should and should not send our men and women in uniform into harm's way.
 
Unitedwestand13 said:
there is no concrete evidence confirming he intended to defect, apart from speculation.
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Are you sure about that? Maybe there is, but we are just not being exposed to it. Should we not demand an explanation as to how one of our soldiers dissapeared? Ok, what if he did not defect. We should be interested in how he was abducted shouldn't we? I certainly am interested in the circumstances. For no other reason that maybe it will uncover that he really is a hero, or that possibly that he really is a deserter. Is that not important?
 
Glen Contrarian said:
Whereas on the Right it's "Duty, Honor, Country, and let's go invade a nation that presents no threat to America and is not allied with those who attacked America!"

No thank you, AR, after what y'all got us into under Bush 43 (meaning that ALL of you decided to ignore Bush 41's warnings), y'all have NO room to talk when it comes to foreign policy, much less the matter of when we should and should not send our men and women in uniform into harm's way.
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Uhm.....no not quite. BO has no room to talk!


Barack Obama on Afghan War

End our longest war: out of Afghanistan in 2014
Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. And we have. We've blunted the Taliban's momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over.
A new tower rises above the New York skyline, Al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, and Osama Bin Laden is dead.

Source: 2012 Democratic National Convention speech , Sep 6, 2012 .....snip~

Barack Obama on War & Peace


Yeah, we can see how the Taliban attacked us on 911. :roll:
 
Glen Contrarian said:
No, it did NOT happen this way during previous administrations. Nearly half of ALL filibusters of presidential nominations in American history have taken place since Obama took office. Not since the Civil War have we seen this degree of obstructionism.
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And it will continue when 'who is in charge' changes. It's just a ramping up of the partisan bickering, both sides do it…. how often have the rules been changed in the Senate so a party can have their way? Yeah, it works both ways, to be blind to that is quite sad and pathetic.
 
Glen Contrarian said:
You bring up a good point...except that it is not proven that he deserted. We have indications of such, but do we have proof that would stand up in a court-martial?
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Other people that were delayed with him saying he just walked off…. yeah, it seems there is enough proof of such a thing. Unless you want to brand several other soldiers as liars. Right?
 
Helix said:
i give zero ****s about the Obama angle.
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So you don't care about anything other than 'he was a POW', even when that might not exactly be the case. Got it. Don't bother to question authority, don't bother to ever dig deeper. :roll:
 
Arbo said:
Other people that were delayed with him saying he just walked off…. yeah, it seems there is enough proof of such a thing. Unless you want to brand several other soldiers as liars. Right?
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Has his guilt been proven in court? Or do you believe that we should start assuming guilt without a trial?

Have you ever seen people make claims and accusations that weren't true? You really need to be careful about lending too much credence to "other people...said". There's been a LOT of people put in jail on eyewitness testimony that turned out to be wrong or an outright lie.
 
Glen Contrarian said:
Has his guilt been proven in court? Or do you believe that we should start assuming guilt without a trial?

Have you ever seen people make claims and accusations that weren't true? You really need to be careful about lending too much credence to "other people...said". There's been a LOT of people put in jail on eyewitness testimony that turned out to be wrong or an outright lie.
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I would certainly not disagree with your point. So you are saying there should be a trial?
 
Sababa said:
oh look someone saw A FEW GOOD MEN
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Do you get your history from Hollywood ? :lamo

Try General Douglas MacArthur.

The address by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur to the cadets of the U.S. Military Academy in accepting the Sylvanus Thayer Award on 12 May 1962 is a memorable tribute to the ideals that inspired that great American soldier. For as long as other Americans serve their country as courageously and honorably as he did, General MacArthur's words will live on.

Duty, Honor, Country

>" No human being could fail to be deeply moved by such a tribute as this [Thayer Award]. Coming from a profession I have served so long and a people I have loved so well, it fills me with an emotion I cannot express. But this award is not intended primarily to honor a personality, but to symbolize a great moral code-a code of conduct and chivalry of those who guard this beloved land of culture and ancient descent. For all hours and for all time, it is an expression of the ethics of the American soldier. That I should be integrated in this way with so noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride, and yet of humility, which will be with me always.

Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn..."<

The whole speech. -> General MacArthur's Thayer Award Speech -- Duty, Honor, Country (1962)

.

Those of us who served be we Democrat or Republican, left or right, consevative or liberal, moderate or a libertarian don't need no dictionary or have to watch some movie to understand what those words mean.

And "I bid you farewell" Sababa
 
Arbo said:
So you don't care about anything other than 'he was a POW', even when that might not exactly be the case. Got it. Don't bother to question authority, don't bother to ever dig deeper. :roll:
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I'm just glad that he's free. You guys can fistfight about the partisan angle.
 
Helix said:
I'm just glad that he's free. You guys can fistfight about the partisan angle.
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If it is found that he deserted his unit, he may not be free for long. At least that is my hope that if it is determined he did desert, he wont be.
 
Glen Contrarian said:
You mean like the Republicans who refused to grant additional funding for embassy security?
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It was proven false.....like Mullens reported. State had 2.2 Billion to fund Embassies and Protection of Posts.
 
Arbo said:
So you don't care about anything other than 'he was a POW', even when that might not exactly be the case. Got it. Don't bother to question authority, don't bother to ever dig deeper. :roll:
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Well they could at lest check with the timeline.....huh?


June 30, 2009
Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, walks off his outpost in eastern Afghanistan.

July 18, 2009
Taliban releases Internet video. Bergdahl says he was captured after lagging behind during a patrol.

Dec. 25, 2009
Taliban releases video showing Bergdahl wearing sunglasses and a U.S. military-style uniform, including a military helmet.

April 7, 2010

Taliban posts a video showing Bergdahl pleading to be sent home and saying the war in Afghanistan is not worth the human cost.

June 12, 2010
Bergdahl is promoted to specialist.

June 12, 2011
Bergdahl is promoted to sergeant.

U.S. officials receive a new video of Bergdahl that they believe was taken in the past month, indicating that he is alive. Officials said Bergdahl appeared in poorer health than in previous videos, showing the signs of his nearly five years in captivity.

May 31, 2014
Bergdahl is released by the Taliban in exchange for five prisoners held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.....snip~

Bowe Bergdahl timeline in Afghanistan: From capture to release - The Washington Post
 
Capster78 said:
I would certainly not disagree with your point. So you are saying there should be a trial?
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If the command feels they have sufficient evidence that he walked off his post of his own volition, then yes, I feel he should stand trial. Unfortunately, even if he did desert, the military may decide not to prosecute because of the media backlash sure to follow. On the other hand, I don't think his five years of captivity was any kind of cakewalk.

In other words, sometimes it's better to let things go. It sounds wrong to say it, but there are times when the prosecution of a crime simply isn't worth the cost. For instance, I strongly feel that Bush 43 and Cheney are war criminals (George Washington himself said that the death penalty is to be considered for those who commit torture of prisoners)...but the prosecution of the two men simply wouldn't be worth the cost. Let it go.
 
Glen Contrarian said:
If the command feels they have sufficient evidence that he walked off his post of his own volition, then yes, I feel he should stand trial. Unfortunately, even if he did desert, the military may decide not to prosecute because of the media backlash sure to follow. On the other hand, I don't think his five years of captivity was any kind of cakewalk.

In other words, sometimes it's better to let things go. It sounds wrong to say it, but there are times when the prosecution of a crime simply isn't worth the cost. For instance, I strongly feel that Bush 43 and Cheney are war criminals (George Washington himself said that the death penalty is to be considered for those who commit torture of prisoners)...but the prosecution of the two men simply wouldn't be worth the cost. Let it go.
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I would also not totally disagree with that point as well if it can be proven that he did not desert as a Taliban apologist. If he was perhaps an apologist, then he was not really in captivity or punished for deserting. If perhaps he was not a willful deserter and his punishment of enduring 5 years of captivity is enough thats fine. However, you don't see the president appearing on camera at Levenworth congratulating prisoners on surviving their prison terms. Any idea why you don't see that? I would think there would be a pretty common sense answer to that question.
 
Glen Contrarian said:
Has his guilt been proven in court? Or do you believe that we should start assuming guilt without a trial?

Have you ever seen people make claims and accusations that weren't true? You really need to be careful about lending too much credence to "other people...said". There's been a LOT of people put in jail on eyewitness testimony that turned out to be wrong or an outright lie.
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Hey Glen.

This is the military judicial system not the civilian judicial system.

Be it "Shoals and Rocks" or the UCMJ and we all know how fare the UCMJ is when they added CATCH-22 Article 134, don't we ?
Those who serve and stand post are held to higher standards than those we protect.
 
MMC said:
Well they could at lest check with the timeline.....huh?


June 30, 2009
Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, walks off his outpost in eastern Afghanistan.

July 18, 2009
Taliban releases Internet video. Bergdahl says he was captured after lagging behind during a patrol.

Dec. 25, 2009
Taliban releases video showing Bergdahl wearing sunglasses and a U.S. military-style uniform, including a military helmet.

April 7, 2010

Taliban posts a video showing Bergdahl pleading to be sent home and saying the war in Afghanistan is not worth the human cost.

June 12, 2010
Bergdahl is promoted to specialist.

June 12, 2011
Bergdahl is promoted to sergeant.

U.S. officials receive a new video of Bergdahl that they believe was taken in the past month, indicating that he is alive. Officials said Bergdahl appeared in poorer health than in previous videos, showing the signs of his nearly five years in captivity.

May 31, 2014
Bergdahl is released by the Taliban in exchange for five prisoners held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.....snip~

Bowe Bergdahl timeline in Afghanistan: From capture to release - The Washington Post
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How is the determination made on which prisoners are to be released from Guantanamo? Length of incarceration; some type of numbering system; where they were captured; overall health; were they specifically requested by the negotiators, or something else? I am curious.

Greetings, MMC. :2wave:
 
APACHERAT said:
Hey Glen.

This is the military judicial system not the civilian judicial system.

Be it "Shoals and Rocks" or the UCMJ and we all know how fare the UCMJ is when they added CATCH-22 Article 134, don't we ?
Those who serve and stand post are held to higher standards than those we protect.
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I was wondering why he kept getting promoted.....was it due to being Captured? I didn't know one could be promoted for such.
 
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