A sudden rush to smear his name. Unnamed accusers. Conflicting accounts. Non-disclosure agreements.
It all sounds depressingly familiar, like the right-wing smear machine is once again going into high gear.
It may be. If he was a traitor/deserter, then let the military justice system handle it. But from the outset, it sure seems like a rush to judgement against him. To be fair, I fail to see how he could have forgotten how to speak English. Perhaps he suffered from Stockholm Syndrome.
There is a segment of the military that is violently anti-Obama and will not miss a chance to denigrate his every action. So I’m taking these accusations with a rather large grain of salt.
All we know is that
(1) he apparently left his post;
(2) was caught by the enemy;
(3) has been held five years;
(4) was released in a high-value swap;
(5) and that the Army is being very cautious about painting him as any kind of hero, survivor, victim etc. - which, given their propensity for overdoing such things, seems telling.
If he is (with the associated assumption that the accusations are actually false), I’m not sure it’ll work better on an average soldier than on a candidate for President of the United States.
Or will it? Hm, I could see it going either way.
Honestly, I’m surprised that far more soldiers don’t crack under the stress. (Which is not to say that I necessarily think Bergdahl cracked. I don’t know if he deserted or was captured but to me, at least, there’s no point in arguing about the difference.)
I wasn’t aware that he was running for office.
But seriously, this is bound to happen. His disappearance was “mysterious”, he left incriminating evidence that he was against the war, and several of his fellow soldiers died trying to find him. Is it really surprising that some folks are going to question his motives?
But this is not “swiftboating” since we don’t even know his side of the story yet. Calling it “swiftboating” is claiming that these folks are not telling the truth, and we simply don’t know what the truth is.
From the OP’s linked article:
What’s up with this? Are nondisclosure agreements normal in such cases? Why would that be?
BobLibDem, forgotten to speak English? I hadn’t heard of that before. Is he unable/unwilling to speak English? That does seem unlikely.
This really isn’t a sudden rush to smear him. This back-story has been there within the military since he was captured, and was brought to some prominence outside of the military by Rolling Stone in June, 2012.
A relevant snippet:
[QUOTE=Rolling Stone]
“In the early-morning hours of June 30th, according to soldiers in the unit, Bowe approached his team leader not long after he got off guard duty and asked his superior a simple question: If I were to leave the base, would it cause problems if I took my sensitive equipment?
“Yes, his team leader responded – if you took your rifle and night-vision goggles, that would cause problems.
“Bowe returned to his barracks, a roughly built bunker of plywood and sandbags. He gathered up water, a knife, his digital camera and his diary. Then he slipped off the outpost.”
[/QUOTE]
That’s what his dad seemed to imply when he appeared at the White House.
I don’t know why so much is being made of this with respect to Bergdahl’s possible actions or motives. It is sad and noteworthy no matter what the situation that sparked it, but as in your post, it’s being mentioned in-line with possible desertion, collaboration, etc. That seems peculiar.
Perhaps his father is thinking of when Bowe’s mother, Stands-With-A-Fist Bergdahl, had trouble relearning English, but she was much younger when she was captured.
It does seem that he was intent on deserting. I’d like to know where hajario (in the other thread) got that he was going to join the Taliban - that seems like baseless slander at this point.
As far as a prosecution goes we would probably like to know which of these is true:
(from the CNN article)
(from the older Rolling Stone article)
and whether he was allowed off the base at all. The Rolling Stone quote seems to imply that leaving without “sensitive equipment” was ok. Which seems odd.
What’s the reference here? When was she captured? What’s with the fist talk?
She looks like Mary McDonnell’s character in Dances With Wolves.
This being the SDMB, calling her President Roslin would have worked better …
I believe he’s referring to the fact thatBowe’s Mom bears a certain resemblance to the character of Stands-With-a-Fist, played by actress Mary McDonnell, in the movie Dances with Wolves.
Edit: ninja’d, of course. But I brought pics.
It could just mean that leaving with sensitive equipment would mean he’d be in even more trouble. For instance I assume if he deserted with a tank he’d get in more shit than deserting with only his army clothes.
I realise he was not about to desert with a tank, but more likely items such as night vision equipment etc.
Yeah, it could mean that but I am curious to what the real answer is. Were off duty personnel allowed off base? Was he off duty?
Even if Bergdahl (allegedly) walked off his post, he has not had a trial; he has not faced his accusers; he is innocent until proven guilty. The UCMJ doesn’t just throw deserters in prison – they get a trial.
Without a trial, he is (was) a US soldier, serving overseas, who was taken prisoner, and should be treated just like any other US serviceperson who was taken prisoner.
NOTE: I’m not criticizing anyone who is speculating on what Bergdahl did – that’s fine and normal for these kinds of discussions. I’m criticizing anyone who is suggesting that, because he allegedly walked off his post, he should be treated differently by the President and the Military with regards to attempts to gaining his release as a prisoner.
It sure does *feel *like a swiftboating, doesn’t it? At first blush, I’d say that the anti-Obama team can’t fault him for rescuing a soldier, so they’re doing their best to “de-soldier” Bergdahl. That way Obama rescued a traitor, 'cause, you know, Obama being un-American and all.
Even if that isn’t the intention, even if Bergdahl was going to the other side, his actions shouldn’t impugn Obama’s actions. But looking around the internet, that’s *exactly *what the right is doing.