The weekend news that the Obama Administration negotiated with the Taliban for the release of one American for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay’s Gitmo means each and every American now has a target painted on his chest or her back.
There are areas, if not countries, whose sole income comes via the kidnapping and holding of hostages for monies or favors. We have just told the world we will negotiate with terrorists.
Richard Fernandez of the Belmont Club writes about just who these Gitmo prisoners were. And, then there’s the Rose Garden ceremony with the parents of the freed American.
I am refraining for speculating why now it was so urgent to get this American freed after five years of captivity because I am so spitting mad I may use language I would regret. The circumstances around the soldier’s disappearance back in 2009 is being hotly debated. Was he taken or was he a deserter and just surrendered once off base. In the search for him back in 2009, several soldiers died looking for him.
Chasing Rabbit Holes 
This is a difficult subject. I’ve come to the point where right is right and wrong is wrong and then I notice my choices are skull-scratching. What? I didn’t create that situation am I glad it exists? What? At least for now. 🙂
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Tess, I agree. It is a difficult subject. I understood the next two sentences and lost you on the last three. Would you come back and explain that to me? You are too valuable to me to not understand what you are saying here…. grin.
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Oh dear. Looks like I missed a sentence or two. I don’t know what I was thinking exactly but my head scratching question is’ does this not set a dangerous precedent?’ At the same time, we’ve had prisoner exchanges before but the Taliban? How do you decide whether to save a life or give one up for the greater good? Is it the greater good?
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Tess, thanks for coming on back and giving me clarity to respond. Yes, this sets a horrible, dangerous precedent (see Bill’s comment below). The more we learn, the worse it gets.
It would appear that when Bergdahl left his post, there was an investigation which was classified and his unit was sworn to silence until his release. Now that he has been released, the members of his unit are talking and it looks very bad. There is mention that he left a note in which he stated he was was renouncing his U.S. citizenship.
In the Rose Garden ceremony with his parents, Bergdahl’s father spoke Pashtu and invoked the name of Allah…
The President failed to give Congress 30 days notice of the trade off of the 5 top Taliban prisoners held at Gitmo for this one soldier – citing circumstances were so urgent, there was no time to waste following the law. Some reports have stated there was concern about Bergdahl’s health, except all reports state he has recovered well physically.
Susan Rice, National Security Adviser – the same Susan Rice who was on all the Sunday news shows after the Benghazi attack, stating it was all due to a anti-Islamic video – was back on the Sunday news shows, stating Bergdahl had served honorably and with distinction…..
My best guess is this was meant to shift the attention away from the V.A. scandal and show that President Obama really does care about the military – “We don’t leave our soldiers behind.” How can this Administration be so deaf, dumb, and blind?
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Life is so complicated. 😦
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Did you see the video where he acted like he doesn’t remember how to speak English?
Not only does he need to be charged with/convicted of Article 85 for Desertion, but also Article 118 for the murder of the six soldiers who were killed as a result of his actions.
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Welcome Lea. I have seen reports that he was unable to speak English…. and reports of the six soldiers who died while searching for him when he was missing. I’ll trust your military knowledge over mine.
What do you think of the Marine being held in the Mexican prison?
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Hunt, sometimes you hit the like button, not because you like, but to acknowledge a post. I am acknowleding your post. This is clearly a case of wanting to have our cake and eating it too. The president’s ratings are at an all time low (for any president) and he has screwed the pooch at every turn he has made. So I am not surprised by the stuipidity of the decision. Yes your right, we have a big fat target on each of us. How can he be so stupid to think that by saying that it was a prisioner exchange and nothing more is beyond me. How can he even begin to think that he didn’t negotiate with the one group in the world that has no rules and loves to kill Americans. And he has set up American Leaders for decades and decades. World news will be talking about kidnapped Americans, and everytime we try to take a hard line, the capturers will say oh but back in 5/14 you negotiated. And our leader will go no no na na, that was just a prisioner exchange. And as soon as he or she utters those words, an american head will be rolling down a street someplace. We are so fucked. And the worst is yet to come I think. Take care, Bill.
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Yep, Bill. Right all the way through, especially the end of your comment.
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So agree with you, it breaks my heart!
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Welcome Inesphoto! Hard post to come in on. I hope you come on back and read the comments of other readers, as well as other posts. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Best ~ HuntMode
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My heart goes out to the military still serving in countries where kidnapping and ransoming/bargaining is still profitable.
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Timelesslady, welcome! The problem is it will not be contained to U.S. military (that would have been bad enough), but all United States citizens are now target worthy.
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It is a simple fact that if nobody EVER paid ransom, no matter what the heartache, kidnapping would stop. Similarly, if hostages should be regarded as technically dead in terms of strategy for attacking those holding them, that problem would go away.. After some martyrs had lost lives in proving the resoluteness towards such tactics, hostages would no longer be taken.
Society is skewed towards protecting the rights of minorities at enormous cost to the majority.
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Yes, Col. You’ve summed it up well.
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I understand that everybody holds on for dear life, including myself, but there are examples of sacrifice for a bigger purpose in human history. I have family in the US, and I would give up my life for the safety of my family. People just don’t understand the consequences of this negotiation. Maybe if this guy understood, he would give up too.
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Inesphoto, I understood everything you wrote, except the last sentence. If you get a moment, come on back and let me know what you were thinking. Best ~ HuntMode
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I mean, that I would refuse to be exchanged and start the bad practice because I care of my family and I understand where this all is heading to. May be Sgt. Bowe Bergdah didn’t realise? He too could refuse to get exchanged, right?
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I don’t have any answers for you. Good questions though. I believe when John McCain was a POW, he refused to return until they all went home. But that would be a POW formally recognized as such. Bergdahl was a captive or hostage of the Taliban, which is not a recognized government.
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True…
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I have been hearing about this subject (even way up here in Canada) & I must say I did not think they would negotiate a prisoner exchange. For pete’s sake, they let all those hostages stay put for how long back in Carter’s(?) administration? I have to say I don’t agree with the decision made by your govt. in this case, especially if there was any doubt about his allegiance.
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Lots of doubt, apparently, Benze. Your point about the hostages held during the Carter years is well taken.
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Huntie – I believe the obvious speaks for itself in that we have a President that knows nothing of the military and what consequences his actions have brought upon all countries, not just the United States. Obama knows nothing of what it means to serve his country under enemy fire, he knows nothing of true sacrifice, he knows nothing of what it means to the families who lost loved ones searching for this man that for whatever reason walked away from his military post.
Yesterday we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the landing of American soldiers from Army, Navy and Air Force on Normandy, France. We lost more men in that one day and as we were remembering there bravery and never doubtful purpose, our president saw fit to tell these same men he believed he had done the right thing in exchanging our POW for 5 known terrorist (the 5 worst terrorist we held captive).
Obama is not going to insist his daughters join the Armed Forces when they are of age and neither has any previous president in the past thirty years. I believe that fact alone speaks to the quality of life our military members have.
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Agreed, Sheri. The good news is so many of our men and women are coming home and taking up the fight by going into politics. God bless them.
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I know but dang it all. One of our representatives, now running for senate, claims to be a dyed in the wool American. Yet, he was among the group that held out on ending the shut-down of government. When government shuts-down, we tell the people of the world just how vulnerable we are. He’s playing his veteran card hard!
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I confess, I thought shutting it down would be a good message. My understanding is that certain programs continue and the President can choose which programs stay in effect. In this President’s case, he went political as usual, shutting down White House tours, the Memorials in D.C. and Nat’l Parks – with the usual uproar… Would be nice, while we are at it, if the President ever submitted a budget that had any chance of success – his own party refused his budget. ‘Course, it’d be nice if the Senate passed their own budget or even wrote one.
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Amen.
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