# Is Bergdahl being swiftboated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 2, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840 "2014-06-02T15:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/561 "2014-06-08T14:39:57Z")
[Some new info](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/us/after-release-from-taliban-bowe-bergdahl-suffers-from-skin-and-gum-disorders-but-is-physically-sound.html) that the Foxwatchers will no doubt respond to with a pretty loud silence: > [@](#): > > Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has told medical officials that his captors locked him in a metal cage in total darkness for weeks at a time as punishment for trying to escape > [@](#): > > He shows few if any signs of the malnourishment and other ailments that Obama administration officials said he was suffering when they saw a video of him that the Taliban made in December and released a month later — a video so alarming, American officials have said, it made his release an urgent priority. As talks for Sergeant Bergdahl’s release proceeded after that, his captors may have fed him better, allowed him greater movement and even brought him medical care in preparation for his departure, American officials said. But he hasn’t forgotten he’s a soldier: > [@](#): > > One thing, however, that does rub him wrong is when hospital staff call him “sergeant,” the result of two automatic promotions while a captive. > > “He says, ‘Don’t call me that,’ ” said one American official. “ ‘I didn’t go before the boards. I didn’t earn it.’ ” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/562 "2014-06-08T14:45:31Z")
Oh, and [his platoon](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/us/us-soldier-bowe-bergdahl-case-highlights-a-unit-known-for-troubles.html)? > [@](#): > > Just how and why Sergeant Bergdahl disappeared remains a mystery to his fellow soldiers. > > They say they do not remember his leaving behind any note or explanation. They said they were unaware that he had previously wandered off the base, as the internal Army review reported. > > And they vehemently disputed reports that implied he had seen a vehicle from his unit run over an Afghan child, which Sergeant Bergdahl had apparently told his parents in an email before his disappearance. That never happened, his fellow soldiers said. > > Mr. Sutton said the one time he remembered Sergeant Bergdahl talking about leaving, it seemed clear — at least then — that he was joking. > > “He said, ‘What would it look like if I got lost in the mountains?’ ” Mr. Sutton recalled him saying. “ ‘Do you think I could make it to China or India on foot?’ I genuinely thought he was just kidding.” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/563 "2014-06-08T17:18:33Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Oh, and [his platoon](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/us/us-soldier-bowe-bergdahl-case-highlights-a-unit-known-for-troubles.html)? What exactly is the mystery? He walked away and ignored the advise of villagers. He literally walked straight into enemy hands. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/564 "2014-06-08T17:38:51Z")
You’re stopping short of calling him a deserter now, even if you yourself don’t realize it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/565 "2014-06-08T17:59:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You’re stopping short of calling him a deserter now, even if you yourself don’t realize it. uh huh. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/566 "2014-06-09T04:05:19Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Some new info](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/us/after-release-from-taliban-bowe-bergdahl-suffers-from-skin-and-gum-disorders-but-is-physically-sound.html) that the Foxwatchers will no doubt respond to with a pretty loud silence: > But he hasn’t forgotten he’s a soldier: This information corroborates this previous story: > **[Bergdahl Reportedly Converted to Islam, Declared Himself a ‘Mujahid’ in...](https://www.mediaite.com/online/bergdahl-reportedly-converted-to-islam-declared-himself-a-mujahid-in-captivity/)** > > According to secret documents obtained by Fox News which were based on eyewitness accounts, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl converted to Islam in 2010 while a Haqqani captive. According to the report from Fox’s James Rosen, the documents suggest that... According to secret documents obtained by Fox News which were based on eyewitness accounts, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl converted to Islam in 2010 while a Haqqani captive. According to the report from Fox’s James Rosen, the documents suggest that Bergdahl “fraternized openly with his captors” and declared himself a “mujahid.” Rosen’s report indicates that Bergdahl’s relationship with his captors was fluid. At times, it was hostile and he was treated like a prisoner. “ **The documents show that Bergdahl at one point escaped his captors for five days and was kept, upon his re-capture, in a metal cage, like an animal,** ” the Fox report read. At other times, he was accepted by his captors, treated like a “fellow,” and even allowed to carry a gun. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/567 "2014-06-09T05:18:13Z")
Supposedly Homeland is Obama’s favorite show. So it should be impossible to fool him. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/568 "2014-06-09T15:13:03Z")
“Secret documents obtained by Fox News”? Seriously? No kidding, **Terr** , that’s “evidence”, according to you? It “corroborates”? I’d very much like to see these documents, where might we go for that? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/569 "2014-06-09T15:16:57Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Secret documents obtained by Fox News”? Seriously? No kidding, **Terr** , that’s “evidence”, according to you? It “corroborates”? I’d very much like to see these documents, where might we go for that? Hey, FOX said that the documents show that he was in a cage. Then NYT **corroborates** (look that word up) that information in their article. That’s all I am saying. If you choose not to believe Fox’s information - that’s fine. But it is a fact that NYT \*\*corroborated \*\* Fox’s article. For one thing, it shows that those docs came from sources that didn’t just make up the information. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/570 "2014-06-09T15:20:30Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > This information corroborates this previous story: > > [Bergdahl Reportedly Converted to Islam, Declared Himself a ‘Mujahid’ in Captivity](http://www.mediaite.com/online/bergdahl-reportedly-converted-to-islam-declared-himself-a-mujahid-in-captivity/) > > According to secret documents obtained by Fox News which were based on eyewitness accounts, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl converted to Islam in 2010 while a Haqqani captive. According to the report from Fox’s James Rosen, the documents suggest that Bergdahl “fraternized openly with his captors” and declared himself a “mujahid.” > > Rosen’s report indicates that Bergdahl’s relationship with his captors was fluid. At times, it was hostile and he was treated like a prisoner. “ **The documents show that Bergdahl at one point escaped his captors for five days and was kept, upon his re-capture, in a metal cage, like an animal,** ” the Fox report read. At other times, he was accepted by his captors, treated like a “fellow,” and even allowed to carry a gun. You do realize that the First Amendment applies to Islam, do you not? I’m assuming you do not, since you chose to play the OH MY FUCKING GOD HE’S A MUSLIM! card. The guy was tortured. His family has been getting death threats. His home town cancelled the welcoming parade because of death threats. The people on Fox criticized his father for growing a beard. Now they think that his perhaps converting to Islam is the fucking Ace Of Trumps. Republicans support the troops, all right. Some restrictions apply. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/571 "2014-06-09T15:31:20Z")
\*\*Terr? \*\* Did you miss this part of your, ah, “cite”? > [@](#): > > …[Retired U.S. Marine Corps General James N. Mattis] was also adamant that no one at CENTCOM or within the broader U.S. military or intelligence community — despite intensive investigation of such allegations — ever learned of anything to suggest Bergdahl had evolved into an active collaborator with the Haqqani network or the Taliban… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/572 "2014-06-09T15:36:43Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Supposedly Homeland is Obama’s favorite show. So it should be impossible to fool him. Wait, what? Da fuq? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/573 "2014-06-09T16:34:14Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > \*\*Terr? \*\* Did you miss this part of your, ah, “cite”? Again, which part of “NYT story corroborates the previous Fox article” is hard for you to understand? I was not discussing the article. I pointed out that the NYT revelation about Bergdahl in a cage adds credibility to the Fox article. Do you disagree? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/574 "2014-06-09T16:35:11Z")
By the way, [here’s](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/us/us-soldier-bowe-bergdahl-case-highlights-a-unit-known-for-troubles.html?_r=1) a refutation of the “all his fellow soldiers think he was a dirtbag” claim: > [@](#): > > “He’d complain about not being able to go on the offensive, and being attacked and not being able to return fire,” said Gerald Sutton, who knew Sergeant Bergdahl from spending time together on their tiny outpost, Observation Post Mest Malak, near the village of Yahya Khel, about 50 miles west of the Pakistani border. > > Mr. Sutton said he had struggled to square the popular portrayal of Sergeant Bergdahl as brooding and disenchanted with the soldier he knew. “He wanted to take the fight to the enemy and do the mission of the infantry,” he said, adding, “He was a good soldier, and whenever he was told to do something, he would do it.” ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/575 "2014-06-09T16:42:15Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > By the way, [here’s](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/us/us-soldier-bowe-bergdahl-case-highlights-a-unit-known-for-troubles.html?_r=1) a refutation of the “all his fellow soldiers think he was a dirtbag” claim: No one ever claimed that. What was claimed was that all his fellow soldiers who went public think that he deserted. Including the one you cited above: [http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/the-kelly-file/transcript/2014/06/03/exclusive-former-platoon-mates-say-bergdahl-deserted-them](http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/the-kelly-file/transcript/2014/06/03/exclusive-former-platoon-mates-say-bergdahl-deserted-them) CODY FULL, FORMER MEMBER OF BOWE BERGDAHL’S PLATOON: Yes, I do believe deserted without a doubt in my mind. KELLY: You have been prohibited from talking about this since he was captured. I mean, made you sign non-disclosure agreements while he was in captivity. Tonight you’re free to speak. Why do you believe he deserted? FULL: Some of the activities before he deserted made telltale signs of this, mailing all his stuff home beforehand. The e-mails you mentioned. Him talking about the terrain extensively, talking to the Afghan National Police in a way that was not about hearts and minds. There was an agenda there when he spoke to them. KELLY: Gerald, I know that you were friends with Bowe in your platoon. What do you think? GERALD SUTTON, FORMER MEMBER OF BOWE BERGDAHL’S PLATOON: I do think that it was premeditated and everything just like Cody said. His true motives and everything, I really don’t know. He never spoke about them, but yes, pretty much what Cody said, too. … SUTTON: Well, I just don’t want to see him hailed as a hero and I just want him to face the consequences of his own actions, and possibly face a court martial for desertion. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/576 "2014-06-09T17:26:33Z")
Good catch, friend **Terr**. What a team we are! ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/577 "2014-06-09T21:15:22Z")
[quote=“Oliveritaly, post:463, topic:689840”] > [@Terr](#): > > We don’t play by those rules though. We bring you home. Why? Because that’s the agreement. > … > Have any doubts? Just look at our POW/MIA center. > > You will come home. Apparently most vets and their families disagree with you in case of Bergdahl. You’re in a tiny minority among veterans. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/09/veterans-obama-made-wrong-call-on-bergdahl/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/09/veterans-obama-made-wrong-call-on-bergdahl/) A new poll shows military veterans and their families say overwhelmingly that President Obama made the wrong call by trading five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The USA Today/Pew Research Center poll shows people in households with veterans disapprove of the deal 55 percent to 26 percent. In addition, according to USA Today, **veterans themselves disapprove 68-16** , and 33 percent of veterans say they are “angry” about the deal, while just 6 percent say they sympathize with Bergdahl, who has been accused of deserting his unit. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/578 "2014-06-09T21:28:11Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Apparently most vets and their families disagree with you in case of Bergdahl. You’re in a tiny minority among veterans. > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/09/veterans-obama-made-wrong-call-on-bergdahl/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/09/veterans-obama-made-wrong-call-on-bergdahl/) > > A new poll shows military veterans and their families say overwhelmingly that President Obama made the wrong call by trading five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. > > The USA Today/Pew Research Center poll shows people in households with veterans disapprove of the deal 55 percent to 26 percent. In addition, according to USA Today, **veterans themselves disapprove 68-16** , and 33 percent of veterans say they are “angry” about the deal, while just 6 percent say they sympathize with Bergdahl, who has been accused of deserting his unit. So? Even if all veterans agreed, it wouldn’t make getting him back the wrong or right thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/579 "2014-06-09T21:30:28Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Apparently most vets and their families disagree with you in case of Bergdahl. You’re in a tiny minority among veterans. > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/09/veterans-obama-made-wrong-call-on-bergdahl/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/06/09/veterans-obama-made-wrong-call-on-bergdahl/) > > A new poll shows military veterans and their families say overwhelmingly that President Obama made the wrong call by trading five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. > > The USA Today/Pew Research Center poll shows people in households with veterans disapprove of the deal 55 percent to 26 percent. In addition, according to USA Today, **veterans themselves disapprove 68-16** , and 33 percent of veterans say they are “angry” about the deal, while just 6 percent say they sympathize with Bergdahl, who has been accused of deserting his unit. This doesn’t actually dispute anything I’ve said. It may have been a bad call, and it’s reasonable to disapprove of the trade, but not because of allegations and supposed notes. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840/580 "2014-06-09T22:38:21Z")
> [@](#): > > …While people might not like the deal, though, they generally agree that any soldier who is held as a prisoner of war should be rescued. Americans say 56-29 that any American should be rescued, regardless of the circumstances. > > In other words, it appears that many Americans think Bergdahl should have been rescued, but don’t necessarily think the administration paid the right price… From the above cite, apparently left off for reasons of brevity and clarity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bergdahl-being-swiftboated/689840.md?page=30)