In Aleteia today I discuss the strange case of Bowe Bergdahl, which is something straight out of Showtime’s “Homeland.”
The Obama administration’s narrative about the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network since the summer of 2009, began to unravel almost immediately. The shadowy Taliban leader Mullah Omar called what was supposed to have been a mutually agreeable prisoner exchange a “big victory” and exclaimed: “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation.”
Omar was happy because the terms of the exchange were favorable to him, and gave him back some of his key men — including Abdul Haq Wasiq, the Taliban’s former deputy minister of intelligence; senior Taliban commander Mullah Norullah Nori; Khairullah Khairkhwa, a close associate of Osama bin Laden who had been the Taliban’s interior minister; Mohammed Nabi, the Taliban’s former chief of security in the city of Qalat; and Mohammad Fazl, under whose leadership the Taliban massacred Afghan Shi’ites wholesale while the Taliban held power in 2000 and 2001.
All the Taliban had to give up for this group of ardent and accomplished jihadists was a man who was apparently markedly sympathetic to them. It was revealed Monday that just says before he left his unit, Bergdahl wrote to his father: “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.” He declared: “I am ashamed to be an American. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools. I am sorry for everything. The horror that is America is disgusting.”
His father responded: “OBEY YOUR CONSCIENCE!” Bergdahl apparently did by deserting and seeking out the Taliban. Nathan Bradley Bethea, a former infantry officer who served with Bowe Bergdahl, wrote in the Daily Beast on Monday that “Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down.” Bethea refuted reports that Bergdahl got separated from his unit while on patrol: “Make no mistake: Bergdahl did not ‘lag behind on a patrol,’ as was cited in news reports at the time. There was no patrol that night. Bergdahl was relieved from guard duty, and instead of going to sleep, he fled the outpost on foot. He deserted. I’ve talked to members of Bergdahl’s platoon — including the last Americans to see him before his capture. I’ve reviewed the relevant documents. That’s what happened.”
The Pentagon concluded the same thing in 2010: “Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his unit, and after an initial flurry of searching the military decided not to exert extraordinary efforts to rescue him, according to a former senior defense official who was involved in the matter.” This official said that the evidence that Bergdahl had deserted was “incontrovertible.”
His action was not entirely unexpected. James Rosen of Fox News reported Monday that Bergdahl — “both in his final stretch of active duty in Afghanistan and then, too, during his time when he lived among the Taliban — has been thoroughly investigated by the U.S. intelligence community and is the subject of ‘a major classified file.’ In conveying as much, the Defense Department source confirmed to Fox News that many within the intelligence community harbor serious outstanding concerns not only that Bergdahl may have been a deserter but that he may have been an active collaborator with the enemy.”
Also, the Taliban claimed in 2010 that Bergdahl had converted to Islam and was teaching bomb-making to its jihadists. His father, Robert Bergdahl, also seems to be a convert to Islam, as during the ceremony with Obama in the Rose Garden announcing the exchange, he proclaimed: “Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim” — the phrase, “In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful,” which is the heading of 113 of the Koran’s 114 chapters.
Read the rest here.
John C. Barile says
We should remember that the Obama Administration consistently indicates its desire to negotiate with the Taliban, and believes that the Taliban’s involvement is necessary for finally resolving the Afghan conflict–now 35 years in duration.
Jay Boo says
We might expect that the UN will nominate Obama and the leaders in the swap for a Nobel Peace Prize.
That will make 2 for Obama which is one more than Yasser Arafat.
Jay Boo says
‘Taliban’ leaders
jihad3tracker says
We can be sure of one thing :
He is going to get hours of coaching by military lawyers in Germany and maybe even here about exactly what to say so that his “story” casts the least possible damage on everyone participating in the exchange.
Jay Boo says
The MSM will play their part
A bit Off Topic on terrorism and the MSM in general
The liberal TV show ‘The View’ takes on terrorism
Who says ‘The View’ is a leftist PC propaganda machine?
This TV show invited Dakota Fanning on the show to talk about her recent film that deals with terrorism.
Of course the terrorism in question is about some Radical Environmentalists not Islam.
But hey! it’s ‘The View’ let’s not expect too much.
The movie takes us inside the (terrorist viewpoint) of an environmental terrorist.
But honestly, could Hollywood really do it any other way.
I am sorry that I didn’t watch long enough to get the name of the movie but I had just finished eating lunch so I had to switch channels.
Jay Boo says
The last sentence of the article
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[” His father, Robert Bergdahl, also seems to be a convert to Islam, as during the ceremony with Obama in the Rose Garden announcing the exchange, he proclaimed: “Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim” — the phrase, “In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful,” which is the heading of 113 of the Koran’s 114 chapters”]
——————————
In fairness, this may be a bit of over-reach. The father may just be trying to appeal to the captors to spare the life of his son.
Same as for the scruffy beard. Let’s not over-think this until we get more info.
Beagle says
Bergdhal the elder uses “ameen.” I will wager the agricultural collective he is a Muslim.
squeezethejuice says
This Bergdahl guy seems like a man who couldn’t take it anymore and snapped. He must have realised the truth, that he was actually fighting for the wealth of the select few running the GREAT SATAN behind the scenes. So he turned to the takfiris.
What he should do is to embrace moderate Islam, swear off violence, and become a scholar of the Qur’an.
Beagle says
Swear off violence and become a scholar of the Quran? Just to make your head ache from cognitive dissonance I assume.
peaceful neck striking
Jay Boo says
You forgot to mention his call to ’embrace moderate Islam’
— moderate Islam is the PR version minus talk off stoning to death a pregnant woman in Pakistan.
The GREAT SATAN is of course really Allah of Islam
The Serpent Slave of Satan is Islam’s false prophet PBUH buffoon
Jay Boo says
Hillary gives a cautious defense of Obama while hedging her bets for 2016
Thank you Hillary, Ah! How reassuring.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/bowe-bergdahl-released/hillary-clinton-defends-tough-decision-bergdahl-prisoner-swap-n120996
William says
His father responded: “OBEY YOUR CONSCIENCE!”
I wonder how the military justice system is going to take that recommendation from the father. Does the soldier obey lawful orders or does he “obey your conscience”? That is dangerous and reckless advice a father – a strange figure he is – can give a son, a soldier sitting in enemy territory in a war. It will be interesting to see what happens. Col. Lakin followed his conscience, which I believe was principled, and he paid the consequence at Leavenworth.
The title of Mr. Spencer’ article is “The Manchurian Soldier.” Well, now we have a manchurian soldier and a manchurian President. Both are made from the same cloth, so to speak.