In the future, when wingers complain that liberals see the military as just another jobs program, they should remember Bowe Bergdahl. The core philosophy that sets the Army apart from other Federal Departments is the concept of no man left behind. A one for all and all for one philosophy that is a critical element in the maintenance of an esprit de corps during what can be extremely harsh circumstances. In their response to Bergdahl's release, as part of a POW swap with the Afghan Taliban, this core belief was trampled into the ground in the unseemly rush to score cheap partisan advantage. It is hard to imagine a less inspiring spectacle or one more damaging to the image of the military. It was undisciplined, mean-spirited and largely incorrect.
Now, the Bergdahl family, a rural conservative Christian family of gun owners and hunters, is subject to death threats and has had to take security precautions to protect themselves from the more unhinged members of this lunatic fringe.
No liberal could ever undermine the image of the military more effectively than the wingers have done during this episode. Small minded, petty gossips spreading lies and innuendo across the internet and in the media. It was the complete disgrace. While political figures like Clinton and Obama are free targets, to attack a private POW and his family like this will a leave a bitter aftertaste that will not wash out for a very long time.
You are really misrepresenting the facts here. They are not a committed Christian family in the way you post and he was a deserter. The testimony of his peers in his platoon show that he was a Taliban convert who went AWOL. Obama didn't care about him. Obama doesn't care about our military. Or our ambassadors. He used him as a pretext to release terrorists which was his main goal in this enterprise.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with this. The family seems pretty straight Christian, in the odd ball American way. The beard and speaking Pashto were in keeping with their isolated and naive life and their love of their son. The son is clearly a somewhat troubled guy, probably ill-suited to a combat role and had a habit of leaving base without due notice but there is no evidence that he was a Taliban convert. The fact that the Taliban had to lock him up after escape attempts and were happy to trade him back to the US seems pretty good evidence of this.
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