General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, repudiated the notion that certain prisoners of war or hostages are not patriotic enough to be rescued, writing on Facebook that “the questions about this particular soldier’s conduct are separate from our effort to recover ANY U.S. service member in enemy captivity.” He added that while Bergdahl should be considered “innocent until proven guilty,” the Army’s leaders “will not look away from misconduct if it occurred.”
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
WASHINGTON — The Army will conduct a "full inquiry" into the circumstances of the disappearance of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan as leaders face increasing pressure from soldiers who said he deserted his post before his capture, a defense official said Tuesday.
The decision comes as new criticism surfaced about Bergdahl's conduct that led to his capture.
The Pentagon has not said how Bergdahl was captured, but a defense official has confirmed he walked off his post without authorization before he was captured. The official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak about the case, would not provide further details about the day he disappeared.
A second official, who was also not authorized to discuss the case, confirmed the Army's inquiry.
"Our Army's leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred," Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, posted on his Facebook page.
The military's leadership has come under increasing pressure from soldiers who are critical of the swap that led to his release.
On the Facebook page of his unit, the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, which is based in Alaska, a number of people characterized Bergdahl as a deserter who should be held accountable for his actions.
"Now he can stand trial for deserting his post," wrote Brandon Fall.
Those who served with him are also raising questions. "Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down," Nathan Bradley Bethea, who said he served in Bergdahl's unit, wrote in the Daily Beast.
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin addressed President Obama on her Facebook page Monday: "Please use your White House Rose Garden to praise the truly honorable service of our good U.S. troops who were killed in their search for Sgt. Bergdahl." She also noted anti-American statements attributed to Bergdahl.
At the time of his capture, the Pentagon said it was pulling out all stops to search for the soldier, who was the only American servicemen held by the Taliban until he was released over the weekend.
The Pentagon has said it is focusing now on the health of Bergdahl, who was 23 when he was captured, and will later determine the circumstances of his capture.
"Our first priority is assuring his well-being and his health and getting him reunited with his family," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said over the weekend. "Other circumstances that may develop and questions, those will be dealt with later."
Bergdahl is in Landstuhl, Germany, where he is being assessed by psychologists at a military hospital. His condition is described as stable, but doctors are paying attention to his diet and nutrition needs, the Pentagon said.
The military's focus now is on helping him reintegrate into society, said Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.
The Pentagon has described the prisoner swap as an expression of the bedrock principle that no soldier is left behind on the battlefield. They said that negotiators had to act quickly or risk losing him and characterized it as a prisoner of war swap in line with previous wars.
That has led to accusations that the Obama administration has reversed its policy on negotiating with terrorists. The administration has historically characterized Guantanamo detainees as enemy combatants who don't abide by international conventions.
"This fundamental shift in U.S. policy signals to terrorists around the world a greater incentive to take U.S. hostages," Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.
The administration has not released details about how the detainees would be monitored but suggested the arrangement was similar to hundreds of detainees who have been released from the facility and transferred to other countries.
The five Taliban detainees were transferred to the custody of Qatar, a Persian Gulf state which served as a conduit for the negotiations that led to the prisoner swap.
The Taliban militants will be banned from travel for a year, but U.S. officials have not said what limitations, if any, they will be under after the travel ban ends.
"The assurances were sufficient enough that the secretary of Defense signed off on the transfer," said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the State Department.
Of the more than 600 detainees that have been released from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, more than 16% returned to terrorist activity, according to a report last year from the Director of National Intelligence. Another 12% are suspected of having returned to terrorism.
Qatar's Embassy in the United States did not respond to questions about the agreement.
Contributing: Oren Dorell USA TODAY
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
He is a true hero who survived a terrible ordeal. No man left behind!
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
He is a true hero who survived a terrible ordeal. No man left behind!
He is no hero... He is a deserter who is "ashamed to be an American" (his words)
"Arguing with liberals is like playing chess with a pigeon; no matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock out the pieces, crap on the board, and strut around like it is victorious." - Author Unknown
He is no hero... He is a deserter who is "ashamed to be an American" (his words)
He's a collaborating traitor. This is the only reason why this sh*t is even still alive after five years. Jihadi don't generally take prisoners, especially soldiers. If they do, they don't last very long since they like to 'display' what's left of them for all to see.
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
Taliban claim captured U.S. solider has converted to Islam and is teaching its fighters bomb-making skills
By Mail Foreign Service Updated: 08:39 EST, 22 August 2010
A captured American soldier is training Taliban fighters bomb-making and ambush skills, according to one of his captors and Afghan intelligence officials.
Private Bowe Bergdahl disappeared in June 2009 while based in eastern Afghanistan and is thought to be the only U.S. serviceman in captivity.
The 24-year-old has converted to Islam and now has the Muslim name Abdullah, one of his captors told The Sunday Times.
April, is teaching the Taliban bomb-making skills, according to one of his captors
A Taliban deputy district commander in Paktika, who called himself Haji Nadeem, told the newspaper that Bergdahl taught him how to dismantle a mobile phone and turn it into a remote control for a roadside bomb.
Nadeem claimed he also received basic ambush training from the U.S. soldier.
'Most of the skills he taught us we already knew,' he said. 'Some of my comrades think he's pretending to be a Muslim to save himself so they wouldn't behead him.'
Afghan intelligence officials also believe that Bergdahl is 'cooperating with the Taliban' and is acting as adviser to fighters at a base in the tribal area of Pakistan.
Nadeem also shed some light on how Bergdahl was captured.
After the serviceman left his post in Paktika's Yahya Khel district with an Afghan soldier he was spotted entering a nearby village.
A group of eight Taliban gunman in a nearby field were alerted and ambushed the pair, killing the Afghan soldier.
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
Michelle Obama said that she was "ashamed to be an American" and Hillary Clinton said that she "loathed the (U.S.) military." The former when her husband was running for president and the latter sometime before her husband was elected. And then people elected Hillary to the U.S. Senate (I voted for Lazio so, at least, I can sleep at night.) and, now, want her to be president. Many of us have been hoping that this was either a bad joke or a bad dream (the Obamas and the Clintons running the country) but sadly, it was not.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
I am not a Hillary fan, but am less of a fan of Goatboy and his misinformation. Hillary DID NOT make that statement, but many have attributed it to her. It was Bill Clinton in 1969 in his letter on his escaping the draft and not joining ROTC to Col. Holmes..."so many fine people have come to find themselves loving their country but loathing the military"
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
Michelle Obama said that she was "ashamed to be an American" and Hillary Clinton said that she "loathed the (U.S.) military." The former when her husband was running for president and the latter sometime before her husband was elected. And then people elected Hillary to the U.S. Senate (I voted for Lazio so, at least, I can sleep at night.) and, now, want her to be president. Many of us have been hoping that this was either a bad joke or a bad dream (the Obamas and the Clintons running the country) but sadly, it was not.
Don't ya just love how some people alter quotes to fit their agenda???
Feb 18, 2008 8:24pm Speaking in Milwaukee, Wisconsin today, would-be First Lady Michelle Obama said, "for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback." Then in Madison, she said, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Michelle Obama said that she was "ashamed to be an American" and Hillary Clinton said that she "loathed the (U.S.) military." The former when her husband was running for president and the latter sometime before her husband was elected. And then people elected Hillary to the U.S. Senate (I voted for Lazio so, at least, I can sleep at night.) and, now, want her to be president. Many of us have been hoping that this was either a bad joke or a bad dream (the Obamas and the Clintons running the country) but sadly, it was not.
Um DVOR... Hillary never said that she "Loathed the US Military. But it sure sounds good if you're making up stuff!
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
John Bellinger, who served as an adviser to President George W. Bush stressed that the Bush administration “returned something like 500 detainees from Guantanamo.” Statistics from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence show that only 6 percent (5 in total) of Guantanamo detainees released during the Obama administration have potentially engaged in militant activities. That compares with a rate of nearly 30 percent under the Bush administration.
This is just more Right Wing Selective Outrage.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
John Bellinger, who served as an adviser to President George W. Bush stressed that the Bush administration “returned something like 500 detainees from Guantanamo.” Statistics from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence show that only 6 percent (5 in total) of Guantanamo detainees released during the Obama administration have potentially engaged in militant activities. That compares with a rate of nearly 30 percent under the Bush administration.
This is just more Right Wing Selective Outrage.
The Bush admin put a lot of people in Gitmo that shouldn't have been there in the first place, it's part of the explanation of why so many more were set free. From what I gather, all of these detainees have to be released when we leave Afghanistan, so it would be a matter of months before they were loose anyway. But, it is clear that Taliban wanted these five specifically in exchange for Bergdahl...and based on their records, it's pretty easy to see why.
"Arguing with liberals is like playing chess with a pigeon; no matter how good I am at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock out the pieces, crap on the board, and strut around like it is victorious." - Author Unknown
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he does not want to prejudge the outcome of any investigation or say anything that might influence a commander's decision. There are a variety of offenses related to an absence without proper approval, and a number of potential actions could be taken by the military. He could be tried by court martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for desertion; he could be given a non-judicial punishment for a lesser charge, such as being away without leave. And he could be given credit for time already served while he was a prisoner. Dempsey stressed that any decision would be up to the Army.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
"...credit for time served while he was a prisoner." That is another ultimate spit in the face of Military everywhere. Along with him getting 2 promotions while a deserter...WTF IS GOING ON?
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
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