The Sergeant Bergdahl Fiasco

Mark Levy
Fri, 06 Jun 2014 21:00:00 -0700
Opinion

Dear Mark: Does the recently "swapped" Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl get court martialed or does President Obama give him a pass on the lives he endangered? Does the release of the Taliban "gang of five" give the president the cover he needs to close Guantanamo Bay before he leaves office? I believe the true reason for the swap is all political. Just some food for thought. — John B in the Falls

Dear John B: I like what you've been eating, and, for once, the media and numerous Democrats including Sen. Diane Feinstein are chomping on the same food, as they feel they have been double crossed by the Obama administration.

As far as Bergdahl being court martialed, I'm sure in a normal situation with a semi-trustworthy administration, Sgt. Bergdahl would be brought to the United States, nursed back to health, debriefed, investigated, faced with the appropriate charges and then proceed through the proper military system of justice.
Updated: Sat Jun 07, 2014

Dear Mark: Does the recently "swapped" Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl get court martialed or does President Obama give him a pass on the lives he endangered? Does the release of the Taliban "gang of five" give the president the cover he needs to close Guantanamo Bay before he leaves office? I believe the true reason for the swap is all political. Just some food for thought. — John B in the Falls

Dear John B: I like what you've been eating, and, for once, the media and numerous Democrats including Sen. Diane Feinstein are chomping on the same food, as they feel they have been double crossed by the Obama administration.

As far as Bergdahl being court martialed, I'm sure in a normal situation with a semi-trustworthy administration, Sgt. Bergdahl would be brought to the United States, nursed back to health, debriefed, investigated, faced with the appropriate charges and then proceed through the proper military system of justice.

But this is the Obama administration, and in the spirit of "Fast and Furious," IRS targeting, Benghazi and Obamacare, Team Obama will find a way to claim that after five years in captivity Bergdahl has suffered enough at the hands of the Taliban and no further investigation or penalty is warranted.

The theory that this terrorist swap is the beginning of the close of Gitmo is being bandied about and seems to make sense for a president who is drowning in bad news and who desperately wants to fire up his anti-Bush base prior to the November midterm elections. Closing Gitmo prior to the 2016 presidential election would also benefit Hillary Clinton, who wouldn't have to address the difficult question of what to do with dangerous Islamic terrorists who want to kill non-Muslims.

The big question remains, what the heck was Team Obama thinking? From the Rose Garden announcement to Susan Rice's outrageous comments on the Sunday talking head shows, the Obama administration has cracked their noses with more garden rakes than a "Tom and Jerry" marathon. My guess is that Team Obama thought the news about Sgt. Bergdahl's release would be welcomed to cheers across the country with President Obama looking impressive as the commander in chief.

One has to wonder if Homer Simpson is giving the White House advice these days because there were numerous red flags and questions surrounding Bergdahl's mysterious disappearance immediately after he left his post in 2009. There was certainly enough easily accessible evidence to determine that Bergdahl was not a hero and that a Rose Garden ceremony might be spiking the football, but then again, what team was Obama spiking the football for?

It's been amusing to watch the folks at MSNBC twist themselves into pretzels trying to find a silver lining in this self-inflicted presidential PR nightmare. The liberal narrative is to suddenly wrap themselves in the flag and proclaim that Americans never leave a soldier behind as if this was some kind of common POW swap between warring factions. The problem with this particular spin is that the president didn't give up five rank and file Taliban grunts. President Obama gave up five top Taliban leaders who he even admitted could be back on the battlefield killing again.

To add insult to injury, we have now seen video footage of the Taliban and its supporters celebrating the "swap" as some kind of radical Islamist victory — thanks, Mr. President, at least you can boost the morale of somebody's army.

My only hope is that President Obama is fooling us all and secretly instructed the CIA to shove tracking devices so far up the "Taliban Fives'" rear ends that only a drone loaded with laser-guided missiles can remove them. Come on now, I'm trying to give the poor guy the benefit of the doubt.