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US soldier freed from captivity in Afghanistan

shrubnose

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The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of 5 Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday

Read more here: http://news.yahoo.com/us-soldier-freed-captivity-afghanistan-164824831-politics.html




I am sure that I join everyone on this forum in wishing this young man and his family and friends the best.
 
The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of 5 Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday

Read more here: http://news.yahoo.com/us-soldier-freed-captivity-afghanistan-164824831-politics.html




I am sure that I join everyone on this forum in wishing this young man and his family and friends the best.

Looks like we started competing threads at the same time, but yours was just a little before mine.
 
Good news indeed. We've been trying to get him back for a long time. I remember he actually escaped a few years back. Spent several days on the run in the Hindu Kush before they recaptured him.
 
The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of 5 Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday

Read more here: http://news.yahoo.com/us-soldier-freed-captivity-afghanistan-164824831-politics.html


I am sure that I join everyone on this forum in wishing this young man and his family and friends the best.

Exchanging prisoners during war has been a long time practice for over 2,000 years.

Nothing wrong with it.
 
Exchanging prisoners during war has been a long time practice for over 2,000 years.

Nothing wrong with it.

Are you certain this is okay with you?
Remember, Obama's still the prez.
 
Good news indeed. We've been trying to get him back for a long time. I remember he actually escaped a few years back. Spent several days on the run in the Hindu Kush before they recaptured him.

I'm very happy for him, and his family and friends! :thumbs: Not being at all familiar with this process, how is it determined who we release in return, and who makes that decision?

Greetings, the_recruit. :2wave:
 
Are you certain this is okay with you?
Remember, Obama's still the prez.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was captured during the Obama administration, likely because of Obama's PC ROE.

If our special operations forces weren't able to rescue Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for whatever reasons, the question is how many attempts were made in the past five years ?

I'm sure with in twenty years we'll find out.

At least during the Vietnam War there were numerous attempts conducted behind enemy lines to rescue American POW's.

No American left behind.
 
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was captured during the Obama administration, likely because of Obama's PC ROE.

That's more like it.
For a moment, I thought you may been kidnapped, and an Obama supporter installed at your keyboard.



No American left behind.

On this, everyone can agree.
 
The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of 5 Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday

Read more here: http://news.yahoo.com/us-soldier-freed-captivity-afghanistan-164824831-politics.html




I am sure that I join everyone on this forum in wishing this young man and his family and friends the best.

Apparently we DO negotiate with terrorists. Of course we're glad to get this soldier back alive, but not at this cost. How many soldiers will these released Taliban kill? How many soldiers will now be hunted for ransom? What other unintended consequences will increase the threat to soldiers because we gave into terrorist demands.

CNSNews.com) - The State Department was firm on Friday, when reporters asked whether the U.S. government was considering releasing Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, commonly known as “the Blind Sheikh,” the mastermind behind the 1993 World Trade Center attack.

“The United States does not negotiate with terrorists,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

State Dept:
 
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was captured during the Obama administration, likely because of Obama's PC ROE.
So you accuse that Sgt. Bergdahl was likely captured because of Obama's PC ROE.
Never pass up a chance to politicize foreign entanglements apache.
We'll see what Sgt. Bergdahl has to say to your constant slamming of YOUR C-in-C .
 
Apparently we DO negotiate with terrorists.
Of course we're glad to get this soldier back alive, but not at this cost.
How many soldiers will these released Taliban kill? How many soldiers will now be hunted for ransom? What other unintended consequences will increase the threat to soldiers because we gave into terrorist demands.



State Dept:




Tell your story to the family of this soldier.
 
Apparently we DO negotiate with terrorists.
Would you prefer that Sgt. Bergdahl still be captured?
Have you ever seen the Israelis do the same thing as we just did?
Are you saying that Reagan/Bush/Bush never did this ?
 
this is a good thing. i can't imagine what he went through. i'm very glad that he is being released.
 
This is a good thing. Not only do we get a brave young man back, but we are also sending more people out of Guantanamo.
 
"Lots more details are still to come on the release of American POW Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan, but this one will be tough to beat: When he got into the helicopter during the transfer, it was too loud to talk, so Bergdahl found a paper plate and wrote "SF?" on the back of it. He wanted to know if, at long last, he was in the company of US Special Forces. When they replied in the affirmative, Bergdahl broke into tears, says a Pentagon official quoted at CNN.

Bergdahl's parents, meanwhile, issued a statement after receiving the phone call from the White House. "We were so joyful and relieved when President Obama called us today to give us the news that Bowe is finally coming home," they wrote. "We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only son." And back home in Hailey, Idaho, organizers of a June 28 concert that was to call attention to Bergdahl's plight says the show will go on, reports the Washington Post. Except now, it's going to be "the biggest welcome-home party the country has ever seen," says an organizer."
How Bowe Bergdahl Learned He Was Free - He broke into tears after finding out he was in the company of US forces
 
The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of 5 Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday

Read more here: http://news.yahoo.com/us-soldier-freed-captivity-afghanistan-164824831-politics.html




I am sure that I join everyone on this forum in wishing this young man and his family and friends the best.

I think this is wonderful news, especially of course for himself and also his family/parents. They must be over the moon and incredibly happy.

I think he will need serious mental health support in the near future because he will have suffered physically but he will also have suffered mentally, 5 years of captivity is not easy for anyone.
 
His character assassination is already underway from the American cousins of the Taliban.
 
This is a good thing. Not only do we get a brave young man back, but we are also sending more people out of Guantanamo.

He's not a "brave young man" or any other kind of hero. He was (apparently) the unit scumbag who got pissed off at his lieutenant and so abandoned his post and ran away from the FOB. He probably has changed a lot since, and I hope he has grown up and become a better person. But this guy doesn't deserve any medals, he deserves to be formally charged.

Manc Skipper said:
His character assassination is already underway from the American cousins of the Taliban.

By which you mean the people who actually served with him?

Look. It's good that we got him back. It's bad that we decided to trade five dudes out of Gitmo for him, apparently on the value of their pinkie-swear that they won't go back to Jihad they pretty-promise-with-a-cherry-on-top. We should go after the American citizens who get kidnapped anywhere in the world, and get them back. But that doesn't make anyone stupid enough to wander off their base in Afghanistan by themselves because they are acting like petulant children into heroes. It just makes them American citizens whom we should go get.
 
i seriously can't believe that anyone is making this political.

seriously. the guy was a POW for five years. just be happy that he's coming home.
 
Exchanging prisoners during war has been a long time practice for over 2,000 years.

Nothing wrong with it.

Glad we got him back, but didn't we in effect trade five generals for a private?
 
Glad we got him back, but didn't we in effect trade five generals for a private?

I didn't realize how many top leaders (generals) that both Al Qaeda and the Taliban has. What is it. around 6,000 or 10,000 ?

Al Qaeda and the Taliban has to many chief and not enough braves. (I think I'm still allowed to use that word, I think the liberal PC word police haven't ruled on the word "braves" yet.)


Just heard that President Obama broke the law again.

You think that President Obama might have finally did something right and it ends up he broke the law.

>" WASHINGTON--The release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl after nearly five years in Taliban captivity prompted cheers among U.S. officials Saturday, but amid the applause some on Capitol Hill are questioning the risks and legality of how his freedom was brokered.

Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a joint statement that they, too, celebrated Sgt. Bergdahl's freedom. But the exchange of five top Taliban detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, raises risks for all Americans, they said.

"Our joy at Sergeant Bergdahl's release is tempered by the fact that President Obama chose to ignore the law, not to mention sound policy, to achieve it," they said Saturday in a written statement.

"Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl's release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans" by giving terrorists "a strong incentive to capture Americans."

They also said that President Barack Obama "clearly violated laws which require him to notify Congress thirty days before any transfer of terrorists from Guantanamo Bay."

Similarly, Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, called the move a "fundamental shift in U.S. policy" that "will threaten the lives of American soldiers for years to come."

He also said he had "little confidence" in security assurances given by Qatar, which is accepting the five Taliban officials--and "even less confidence in this Administration's willingness to ensure they are enforced." ..."<

Amid Cheers for Sgt. Bergdahl's Release, Some Lawmakers Raise Concerns About Swap - WSJ.com
 
He's not a "brave young man" or any other kind of hero. He was (apparently) the unit scumbag who got pissed off at his lieutenant and so abandoned his post and ran away from the FOB. He probably has changed a lot since, and I hope he has grown up and become a better person. But this guy doesn't deserve any medals, he deserves to be formally charged.



By which you mean the people who actually served with him?

Look. It's good that we got him back. It's bad that we decided to trade five dudes out of Gitmo for him, apparently on the value of their pinkie-swear that they won't go back to Jihad they pretty-promise-with-a-cherry-on-top. We should go after the American citizens who get kidnapped anywhere in the world, and get them back. But that doesn't make anyone stupid enough to wander off their base in Afghanistan by themselves because they are acting like petulant children into heroes. It just makes them American citizens whom we should go get.

Now I remember who this "sad sack" of a soldier is.

And Obama is going to honor this guy at the White House as a hero !!!

I wonder if charges will be brought up on Bergdahl ?

What UCMJ articles did this guy violated ? Article 113 ? Article 99 ? Article 86 ?

Has the current administration authorized any new medals recently for violating the UCMJ ?
 
I'm extremely relieved that he has been released. I can't imagine the joy his family must be feeling, nor can I imagine what he has suffered for the past five years.

I'll confess to being nervous about the USA having negotiated with terrorists, which in effect gave them an immense win... five prisoners they wanted desperately in exchange for one American. That makes American hostages a viable currency now. Time will tell what effect that will have.
 
i seriously can't believe that anyone is making this political.

seriously. the guy was a POW for five years. just be happy that he's coming home.

I can.
 
I'm extremely relieved that he has been released. I can't imagine the joy his family must be feeling, nor can I imagine what he has suffered for the past five years.

I'll confess to being nervous about the USA having negotiated with terrorists, which in effect gave them an immense win... five prisoners they wanted desperately in exchange for one American. That makes American hostages a viable currency now. Time will tell what effect that will have.

:agree: I don't know how many are still being held at Guantanamo, but if we give them five back for every one of ours, that's not good. Does anyone believe that they will now behave themselves, and not rejoin their former buddies in terrorist activities? I don't, and that's scary! Plus, they'll probably be hailed as heroes, which will only deepen their resolve to harm us if they can. :2mad:

Greetings, DiAnna. :2wave:
 
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