I want to say something that is spiraling off the Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap, but also need to make a quick comment about the issue itself. Some might assume that I have an inside track or something, because Bergdahl is from a Reformed background, and he is also from southern Idaho, and I am up in the chimney of Idaho, but I don’t really have an inside anything. It’s a big state — driving from the Canadian border down to Nevada is like driving from New York to Charleston. So this is just an observation from afar, like everybody else.
That said, it seems obvious that there are a lot of unanswered questions. The only thing I would urge is that we give the principal actor, Bowe Bergdahl, a reasonable amount of time to answer those questions. The one person’s account we do not yet have is that of Bergdahl himself, and Prov. 18:17 applies here as much as anywhere else. In fact, since feelings are running so high on the issue, it would be good for us to double down on applying it.
But with that said, let me express the central concern I have about the process thus far. And that is that the reasonable questions that have been raised will never be asked or answered. We live in a time when everything is politicized postmodern style, and that means that we can have a pretty solid expectation that absolutely everything about this will be handled by the administration in accordance with feelings, photo ops, spin, polls, stonewalling, and lies.
This is not altered by the fact that the Obama team is rapidly turning into the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. They are playing this politically, but there are not nearly as adept as they used to be at controlling the narrative. But the fact that the Obama team has entered what one observer has called the “killer rabbit” phase of his presidency does not mean that we know the details of what happened with Bergdahl. For that we will have to just wait and see, and part of what we are waiting to see is whether wait and see will turn up anything.
It just means that the political handling of the whole thing has been inept. If we don’t yet know that Bergdahl was a deserter or traitor, we also don’t know that he served “with distinction” as one administration spokesman put it. And we certainly don’t know that he was an asset worth exchanging for 5 hard eggs from Guantanamo. So the Bergdahl case is one thing. The Bergdahl affair is turning into quite another.
OK, I won’t make my comment, yet.
I think that important issues exist in this dynamic that should not be obscured (which I do not think that you are doing) by the individual involved. 1. Open defiance of law, at a level that even his most reliable apologists are decrying, is never a good position for someone sworn to execute law faithfully. (Yes, I know that may be naive sounding, so just call me a boy scout…on second thought, not any more, thank you.) 2. Trading for prisoners/hostages is always an extreme measure, only to be taken with a significant risk/ benefit analysis. Releasing multiple members of… Read more »
I agree with Anne Barnhardt’s take on motive and means.
I couldn’t agree with this post more. I think the deal was a good idea, but I don’t know what I’m going to think when the details of Berdahl’s AWOL adventure come out in full light. On the other hand, I’d hate to be someone calling for the head of a man later proven to be mentally ill and confused.
Unless I am mistaken…the Army (and all other Military branches) screen those before they sign on the dotted line. Going AWOL and deserting your post are crimes.
It is also a crime to use your phone and your pen to run around Congress.
@kimberley You’re absolutely right to criticize the absurd “process” (if you can even call it that) the deal went through. I’m sure it had more to do with the distracting from the VA scandal than anything else, but Bergdahl may very well be mentally ill. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, manic depression (not to mention PTSD) and many other illnesses can’t be screened for until they emerge. They manifest themselves in men between the ages of 18-27 which is generally around the time men serve in the military. Going AWOL is a crime, but I don’t understand what made it attractive to… Read more »
If you have seen the adorable photo of the Prez. and Mrs. Bergdahl walking hand in hand, smiling widely as they gaze into each othe%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.timesunion.com%252Fnews%252Fpolitics%252Farticle%252FReleased-soldier-s-parents-appear-with-Obama-5519769.php%3B628%3B449
So sorry to have made such a mess of my link. Oh, well; it’s rather late.
RFB,
Regarding Point #2, I tend to think either it’s a false flag, or perhaps more likely, the US deems it more dangerous for him to be roaming the streets than for the 5 Gitmo prisoners. He would have some insider information afterall.
I know nothing beyond the headlines and care less but wonder if maybe we turned one of the detainees. Kind of a reverse Nick Brody, if you follow that dreadful TV show. It would be beyond ironic if the president ended up getting busted over something he did right but couldn’t disclose the truth for national security reasons.
If possible, could you please delete Melody’s comments. I am sure she would appreciate it. Then you could post the following URL of the President not “waiting and seeing.” I have been sharing this post with a lot of people, so I thought…
Thanks.
I won’t slog though how I got here, but I’m a USAF vet (1980-1984) who once intended to encourage my sons to pull at least one hitch in the Army or Marines, but had a drastic change of heart after BushCo lied the American people and Congress into invading Iraq. I find the Bergdahl case fascinating, and hope that it casts a strong light onto how we appeal to ideals such as patriotism and the noble desire to defend one’s country to get young people enlisted in the military, but then send them on fool’s errands such as regime change,… Read more »