In FrontPage today I discuss how the Bergdahl prisoner exchange defied intelligence reports and endangers Americans.
When he announced the exchange of five Guanatamo detainees for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by Islamic jihadists in Afghanistan since 2009, Barack Obama declared that the swap was “a reminder of America’s unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield.” However, as ever more damning information came to light about both the deal and Bergdahl himself, it became increasingly clear that the prisoner exchange was actually a reminder of Barack Obama’s unwavering commitment to appeasing and aiding jihadis.
Many people have questioned the wisdom of this deal that sends five seasoned, committed, and ruthless jihadis back to Afghanistan, where they will undoubtedly resume their jihad against the American troops there. The freed jihadis include, according to the Associated Press, “Abdul Haq Wasiq, who served as the Taliban deputy minister of intelligence”; “Khairullah Khairkhwa, who served in various Taliban positions including interior minister and had direct ties to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden”; and “Mohammad Fazl, whom Human Rights Watch says could be prosecuted for war crimes for presiding over the mass killing of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001.”
Even more disturbing, however, are the questions swirling around Bowe Bergdahl himself. Former infantry officer Nathan Bradley Bethea, 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.” Refuting reports that Bergdahl got separated from his unit while on patrol, Bethea declared: “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.”
Corroborating this was an Associated Press report that was also published on Monday, stating that “a Pentagon investigation concluded in 2010 that 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.”
Why might Bergdahl have deserted? A clue may lie in the fact that the Taliban claimed in 2010 that Bergdahl had converted to Islam and was teaching bomb-making to its jihadists. His father, Robert Bergdahl, appears 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 Qur’an’s 114 chapters. (Journalist Neil Munro noted in the Daily Caller that “although Bergdahl quoted the Quran verse, the White House transcript did not translate it or even include the Islamic prayer. Instead, the transcript simply said Bergdahl spoke in the Pasho language, which is the language of the Pushtun tribe, which forms the vast majority of the Taliban force. In fact, ‘Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim’ is Arabic.” The lavishly-bearded Robert Bergdahl has also called for the release of the jihadists in Guantanamo and has implied that American troops are killing Afghan children in a tweet he concluded with “ameen,” the Arabic form of “amen.”)
What’s more, it was also revealed Monday that in an email to his father just days before he deserted, Bergdahl wrote: “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 thundered: “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 thundered back: “OBEY YOUR CONSCIENCE!”
Apparently he did, by walking away from his unit and seeking out the Taliban. Nor was his action entirely unexpected. James Rosen reported at FoxNews.com 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.”
It strains credulity to imagine that Barack Obama was not apprised of the existence of this file and these suspicions about Bergdahl. In any case, high-level officials appear to have been aware of them and embarrassed by them for quite some time, as they have enforced a gag order on the members of Bergdahl’s unit, threatening legal action against them if they revealed what happened on the night Bergdahl disappeared.
Why the cover-up? Were Obama Administration officials afraid that the story of a Muslim soldier (if the Taliban claim is true) deserting his post and joining up with the enemy would have negative repercussions for Obama’s disastrous fantasy-based policies in Afghanistan and elsewhere? Did they think that such news would provide a fresh basis to challenge the “diversity” in the military that military brass value more than life itself – as Army chief of staff George Casey demonstrated when he said right after the Fort Hood jihad massacre that “as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse”?
Whatever his reasoning may be, Obama has now traded five battle-hardened jihad warriors for someone he was in a position to know was a deserter and possibly a traitor, who had said that he was ashamed to be an American. If the mainstream media and the Democratic Party covers for the President in this, the latest in his long string of insults to the American people, it will be an outrage. But there is no doubt that they will do so. And quickly this incident will be forgotten, like all of Obama’s earlier insults. But if there are any free people left in America, they will not let this incident be forgotten – and will use it as the linchpin to begin the massive change we so desperately need in the political and media culture.
John C. Barile says
The Taliban are certainly emboldened, now that younger and senior Bergdahls have Gone Native. President Obama can’t place any gag orders on Mullah Omar [shame that bin Laden’s patron is still in the saddle]. If we listen, we might hear more about collaboration and complicity–Obama’s, not so much Bergdahl’s.
ApolloSpeaks says
OBAMA’S NEW CHAPTER IN THE STORY OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP: SAME OLD APPEASEMENT RUN AMUCK
In his God awful, painfully empty, poorly received speech at West Point last week Barack Obama announced that his plans to end the 12 year-long war in Afghanistan “would begin a new chapter in the story of American leadership around the world.” But we saw this week from the prisoner exchange between the US and Taliban that this “new chapter” is the same old Obama appeasement run amuck with implacable foes.
Indeed, the most narcissistic, self-serving, politically driven president in US history traded an America-hating, radical leftist, AWOL deserter (responsible for the deaths of six soldiers) for the five most dangerous, bloodthirsty, mass murdering jihadists in Gitmo (responsible for killing thousands) as a weak, pathetic appeasement move to achieve an impossible peace with the the supremacist (al-Qaida linked) Taliban before we leave Afghanistan and end “the good war”…without winning it.
Desperate men do desperate things and Obama is a desperate man at his wits end as his time in the White House grows short. For underlying this insanely dangerous, lopsided exchange is Obama’s failure to achieve anything of note and significance in diplomacy and foreign policy…to earn him his Nobel Prize and imagined high place in history (as our fourth greatest President). After five years of reckless, relentless reset and butt-kissing outreach to Russia, China, Iran, Syria, North Korea, the Moslem Brotherhood, Palestinian Authority, the Taliban (and Islam in general) what has Obama achieved? What does he have to show for all the bowing and scraping and wanting our enemies and Moslems to love him? The loss of American power, credibility and prestige that’s what..with friends and foes no longer respecting, fearing or trusting us. Our standing in the world is sinking to historical lows as we frighten our friends and embolden to our enemies who advance as we retreat on the chaotic world stage. But more concessions are coming as the Desperate One madly doubles down trying to appease his way (with fingers crossed) out of a terrible destiny of failure, disaster and dust.
Click my name for more on this subject.
cheekturner says
Obamahummed has achieved nothing for the USA but plenty for his “companions”. Sadly as a Brit I see our own dumb, leftist, weak-knee’d sops and media driven government, watching every move that your “leader” makes and follow suit. Sick people infecting fine citizens with the deadliest disease known to man…..Islam!
Clicked on your name and read the piece on Churchill, FDR and Truman. Brilliant. Such a shame they aren’t in power today.
ApolloSpeaks says
Tell me about it. Compared to Churchill, FDR and Truman Obama is a moral and mental pipsqueak shrinking America down to his pathetic little sickly size.
Champ says
Public enemy #1 is in the Oval Office!
mariam rove says
Here we are. 14 of solders lost their lives trying to track this traitor and deserter and a bunch of vile terrorists got a free ride home and you can bet your life savings that soon they will join ranks with the Talibans and killing us. This bastard should be court marshaled the second he gets back to the US Soil. That very second. M
Champ says
I completely agree, Mariam!
Richard Brandt says
How can this action be seen as anything other than finding an excuse so that Obama could do yet another thing to support those who have no problem killing unbelievers wherever they may be found.
Richard Brandt says
How about trading the Taliban leaders for a bag of carrots. This fella is just an excuse for Obama to do one more thing to support those who hate America and want to kill unbelievers wherever they are found.
Mo says
Explain to me how this is NOT treason?!
WTD says
Just occurred to me …Bob Bergdahl urged Bowe to trust his military reintegration team, and he also suggested his son could no longer speak English.
Could it be that daddy Bergdahl was instructing his son to speak only in his adopted foreign tongue to avoid revealing too much ? Instructing his son to trust his reintegration team would also suggest that these team members are also fluent in that tongue in order to communicate with Bowe and the administration. I would even venture to guess that the entire bunch are in cahoots to keep the evolving narrative intact as long as possible. This appears to be quite a challenging task given the walk back this afternoon :
State Dept changes it’s tune now unsure if Bergdahl captured during combat via theBlaze
Perhaps Bowe is not willing to concede to the administration’s much desired ‘returning rescued hero’ meme.
Notta_allah_followa says
Treasonous SOB occupying the White House. If only there was an opposition party in DC to at least try and stop the Obama train wreck from slamming into the heart of the country. Where are democrats of conscience? Is this the hope and change they were envisioning? They hated W because, among other things, he reduced our standing in the eyes of the world. Do Leftists think the world loves us now, when the traitor Obama is just the latest world leader to bow to the coming tide of Islam?
bill says
Obama will come to regret this I feel sure. It is the equivalent of a chess player giving up 5 Queens to get one pawn back, and a pawn of doubtful loyalty to America too.
Stephen David says
Here is an interesting article about a young couple who traveled to Afghanistan and were captured by the Taliban:
http://news.msn.com/world/ap-exclusive-western-couple-held-in-afghanistan
With the news of the Bergdahl swap, the couple and their families are begging for a similar deal. The article tries to make them sound like a nice, innocent couple of tourists traveling the world as peace ambassadors, and naively thinking that “if people were loved and treated with respect that that would be given back to them in kind.”
They just happened to end up in the wild mountainous areas of Afghanistan to play their kumbaya games.
But buried deeply in the middle of the article is this astounding tidbit:
“Joshua Boyle was previously married to the sister of Omar Khadr, a Canadian man who spent 10 years at Guantanamo Bay after being captured in 2002 in a firefight at an al-Qaida compound in Afghanistan, but U.S. officials discount any link between that previous family tie and his capture. One called it a ‘horrible coincidence.'”
Right. It was just a “horrible coincidence” that this guy was previously married to the sister of an Al-Qaida terrorist and they just happened to wander up into the Afghan mountains, where he grew a long beard and she donned a full length black Burqa. (see photo that accompanies article)
I wonder how long it will be before our government swaps more Gitmo terrorists for this lovely couple? Obama loves him some deserters, traitors and Islamic terrorists.