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Last US POW in Afghanistan released


OverSword

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Good and bad news. This POW was released in exchange for what have been labeled high level taliban prisoners perhaps responsible for the deaths of thousands (per senator McKay) Hard to say anything negative about a soldier being repatriated, but now suddenly American hostages all over the world have just been increased in value as to what may be expected for their release and it encourages hostages be taken. Time will tell.

From the article:

Taliban fighters released the sole remaining American military hostage Saturday morning to a team of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan, who quickly hustled him onto a helicopter. Once airborne, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl scribbled the letters “SF?” on a paper plate, seeking confirmation that he was with Special Operations forces.

“Yes!” one of the troops hollered back above the din of the aircraft’s blades, according to a defense official who described Bergdahl’s first moments of freedom. “We’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

Bergdahl, 28, who had been held captive nearly five years, broke down in tears.

His release was secured after the Obama administration, working through Qatari government intermediaries, agreed to free five high-profile Afghan inmates held by the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The influential commanders, including the former head of the Taliban’s army, were loaded onto a U.S. military aircraft bound for Qatar after U.S. officials got confirmation that Bergdahl had been freed.

Bergdahl’s “safety and health were both in jeopardy,” and officials had to act quickly to obtain his release, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

read the rest here

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This is a tough one. We got our guy back but we negotiated with terrorists.

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I've come up with a conspiracy for this one already. Why make the obvious error of exchanging high level taliban prisoners for a one that will possibly be charged with going over the wall in the next day or two, set up unthinkable precedence, and will start a huge left vs right paradigm debate? This will turn into an all encompassing poop storm and they will use the fog of poop storm war to "backdoor"( ^_^ )some erosion of our rights or some huge boon to certain corporations for exceedingly rich tax payer funded boons.

There you have it, vast conspiracy theory combined with beavis and butthead humor.

Edited by OverSword
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Never leave a fallen soldier

or

never negotiate with terrorists

Tough one, glad he is released, but at what cost we are yet to find out no doubt.

I was wondering the same when I saw this one the news.

Edited by psyche101
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Glad the guy is free but Obama just gave-in to terrorists. Not a wise move, in my humble opinion.

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Now if that's true and he's a deserter it makes the situation even more complicated.

6 soldiers died looking for him and 5 terrorists released back into the wild, which could lead to many more atrocities, for one deserter.

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Good and bad news. This POW was released in exchange for what have been labeled high level taliban prisoners perhaps responsible for the deaths of thousands (per senator McKay) Hard to say anything negative about a soldier being repatriated, but now suddenly American hostages all over the world have just been increased in value as to what may be expected for their release and it encourages hostages be taken. Time will tell.

From the article:

Taliban fighters released the sole remaining American military hostage Saturday morning to a team of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan, who quickly hustled him onto a helicopter. Once airborne, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl scribbled the letters “SF?” on a paper plate, seeking confirmation that he was with Special Operations forces.

“Yes!” one of the troops hollered back above the din of the aircraft’s blades, according to a defense official who described Bergdahl’s first moments of freedom. “We’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

Bergdahl, 28, who had been held captive nearly five years, broke down in tears.

His release was secured after the Obama administration, working through Qatari government intermediaries, agreed to free five high-profile Afghan inmates held by the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The influential commanders, including the former head of the Taliban’s army, were loaded onto a U.S. military aircraft bound for Qatar after U.S. officials got confirmation that Bergdahl had been freed.

Bergdahl’s “safety and health were both in jeopardy,” and officials had to act quickly to obtain his release, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

read the rest here

"An American prisoner of war has been turned"

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They shoulda secretly inserted a tracking device into the terrorist and once they had their soldier back, gone and "collected" the terrorist they released :)

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This just seems wrong.... It doesn't pass the sniff test. Why the sense of urgency now? Why is this particular person of such special interest to put a larger target on possible future American soldier/ civilians? Are negotiations being conducted right now about other known held American prisoners? Why the sudden policy shift with no warning? Who initiated contact about this particular situation? When?............

Jeebers, so many more questions that will just never be answered....

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This just seems wrong.... It doesn't pass the sniff test. Why the sense of urgency now? Why is this particular person of such special interest to put a larger target on possible future American soldier/ civilians? Are negotiations being conducted right now about other known held American prisoners? Why the sudden policy shift with no warning? Who initiated contact about this particular situation? When?............

Jeebers, so many more questions that will just never be answered....

I don't think we should have done the exchange, but, to be completely honest, there was no shift in policy. Prisoner exchanges have been conducted in every single war the United States has been involved in. The word "terrorist" is thrown around far too often these days. The Taliban are really enemy combatants. The whole "we don't negotiate with terrorists" does not apply as much to enemy combatants as it would a hijacking or hostage situation.

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Several things bother me about this: There is a possibility that the reason he was taken in the first place was that he became disillusioned with the war and went AWOL. Apparently soldiers also may have died as a result of trying to rescue him. We negotiated with terrorists. We let five of the most notorious Taliban prisoners free; that could well come back to bite us. We are relying on a second Muslim country to incarcerated them abroad (we'll see how that works). The Taliban (no surprise) are touting it as a great victory over America. The Obama administration apparently did not consult Congress and acted unilaterally in this trade.

I know there are some screaming that this is an impeachable offense, and it may well be. But never forget that as long as Harry Reid and the Democrats are in charge of the Senate, that will go nowhere. Voters, if you are really ticked off about this and other abuses: Remember this November.

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Voters, if you are really ticked off about this and other abuses: Remember this November.

Oh please, most voters won't even remember to vote in November, much less this incident.

I can't seem to find it now, but saw a nice little chart about the recent primary elections that showed that the overwhelming majority of incumbents didn't even face a primary challenger.

Keep the status quo and go back to sleep folks.

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He walked off his post.

6 SOLDIERS WERE KILLED TRYING TO RECOVER HIM.

He is a deserter which we should have just let rot.

So not only did we negotiate with terrorists and bypass Congress and release 5 high threat prisoners all we got in return was a spineless coward.

What a deal.

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From what I have been hearing, Afghanistan and the U.S. have been talking to the Taliban for years. I think they are turning into another Hamas or Hezbollah that everyone hates but agrees isn't going away. Lord knows over a decade of shooting at them hasn't worked. I have a feeling that this is the prelude to us just making nice to minimize the shooting between us.

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I don't think we should have done the exchange, but, to be completely honest, there was no shift in policy. Prisoner exchanges have been conducted in every single war the United States has been involved in. The word "terrorist" is thrown around far too often these days. The Taliban are really enemy combatants. The whole "we don't negotiate with terrorists" does not apply as much to enemy combatants as it would a hijacking or hostage situation.

Well, while I acknowledge your initial statement..... There was a shift in policy at least on the standpoint that they didn't follow the guidelines that are currently set. While prisoner exchanges have happened in the past, it doesn't change the fact of the who, what and why of this current situation and the consequences of. All of which we know absolutely nothing about. It just reeks of some slight of hand trick that is manipulating another situation.

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Well, while I acknowledge your initial statement..... There was a shift in policy at least on the standpoint that they didn't follow the guidelines that are currently set. While prisoner exchanges have happened in the past, it doesn't change the fact of the who, what and why of this current situation and the consequences of. All of which we know absolutely nothing about. It just reeks of some slight of hand trick that is manipulating another situation.

Got it..I thought you were talking about the "we don't negotiate with terrorists" policy, which I don't think really applies here.

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Got it..I thought you were talking about the "we don't negotiate with terrorists" policy, which I don't think really applies here.

But still, to release these men for a deserter? Well I won't begrudge him that. I have no problem doing what it takes to bring Americans home. What's most regretful in this case is that he believed the propaganda about his mission and joined up at all. People really need to examine history deeper than a John Wayne movie when deciding if it's a morally correct decision to volunteer to go shoot people in their own country for corporate profits.
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But still, to release these men for a deserter? Well I won't begrudge him that. I have no problem doing what it takes to bring Americans home. What's most regretful in this case is that he believed the propaganda about his mission and joined up at all. People really need to examine history deeper than a John Wayne movie when deciding if it's a morally correct decision to volunteer to go shoot people in their own country for corporate profits.

In my first post, I said I did not agree with the trade. I was on my last deployment in Afghanistan when this guy walked off the base, and think he is the ultimate insult to Soldiers that served honorably.

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In my first post, I said I did not agree with the trade. I was on my last deployment in Afghanistan when this guy walked off the base, and think he is the ultimate insult to Soldiers that served honorably.

To be fair Agent, could it be that he was disabled due to depression and stress and therefore a bit incompetent?

Here is the last email he sent his parents before going AWOL (From Wikipedia) It almost sounds like it comes from someone who is losing it. Can't really hold crazy people responsible for being crazy.

On June 27, 2009, according to Rolling Stone,[19] Bergdahl sent a final e-mai­l to his parents: "The future is too good to waste on lies. And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong. I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be american. The horror of the self-righteous arrogance that they thrive in. It is all revolting."

His e-mail went on to describe his disillusionment with the U.S. Army: "In the US army you are cut down for being honest... but if you are a conceited brown nosing **** bag you will be allowed to do what ever you want, and you will be handed your higher rank... The system is wrong. I am ashamed to be an american. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools...I am sorry for everything here. These people need help, yet what they get is the most conceited country in the world telling them that they are nothing and that they are stupid, that they have no idea how to live. We don't even care when we hear each other talk about running their children down in the dirt streets with our armored trucks... We make fun of them in front of their faces, and laugh at them for not understanding we are insulting them...I am sorry for everything. The horror that is america is disgusting...There are a few more boxes coming to you guys. Feel free to open them, and use them."

Edit to add: I think his intent was not to disappear or to be captured, I think he left the base unarmed hoping to be killed.

Edited by OverSword
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Oh please, most voters won't even remember to vote in November, much less this incident.

I can't seem to find it now, but saw a nice little chart about the recent primary elections that showed that the overwhelming majority of incumbents didn't even face a primary challenger.

Keep the status quo and go back to sleep folks.

You could be correct, but I am certainly going to my part insuring they don't forget this and the other nonsense that's been going on in D.C.

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To be fair Agent, could it be that he was disabled due to depression and stress and therefore a bit incompetent?

Here is the last email he sent his parents before going AWOL (From Wikipedia) It almost sounds like it comes from someone who is losing it. Can't really hold crazy people responsible for being crazy.

On June 27, 2009, according to Rolling Stone,[19] Bergdahl sent a final e-mai­l to his parents: "The future is too good to waste on lies. And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong. I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be american. The horror of the self-righteous arrogance that they thrive in. It is all revolting."

His e-mail went on to describe his disillusionment with the U.S. Army: "In the US army you are cut down for being honest... but if you are a conceited brown nosing **** bag you will be allowed to do what ever you want, and you will be handed your higher rank... The system is wrong. I am ashamed to be an american. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools...I am sorry for everything here. These people need help, yet what they get is the most conceited country in the world telling them that they are nothing and that they are stupid, that they have no idea how to live. We don't even care when we hear each other talk about running their children down in the dirt streets with our armored trucks... We make fun of them in front of their faces, and laugh at them for not understanding we are insulting them...I am sorry for everything. The horror that is america is disgusting...There are a few more boxes coming to you guys. Feel free to open them, and use them."

Edit to add: I think his intent was not to disappear or to be captured, I think he left the base unarmed hoping to be killed.

Possibly. It is hard for me to comment on things like that because I personally have never experienced PTSD. I have witnessed it, but IN MY OPINION, I feel that someone has to have an underlying condition to develop PTSD. The inability to distinguish home from war literally baffles me.

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Possibly. It is hard for me to comment on things like that because I personally have never experienced PTSD. I have witnessed it, but IN MY OPINION, I feel that someone has to have an underlying condition to develop PTSD. The inability to distinguish home from war literally baffles me.

I feel the same way about seemingly normal people who get panic attacks out of nowhere or over little things. More often than not, when I witness these things I can't help but feel it's an attention grab. I know, different mental topics but similar outlooks.

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Whatever the case I foresee this becoming a big, big deal in the next week or so. Especially if they fail to press charges of being AWOL.

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Whatever the case I foresee this becoming a big, big deal in the next week or so. Especially if they fail to press charges of being AWOL.

Trying to figure out if there is any political timing involved in this. All I can think is amidst the V.A. scandal this was a push to show how much the administration cares about veterans. Possible?

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