US captive soldier in Afghanistan exchanged for 5 Guantanamo detainees (1 Viewer)

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SlyPokerDog

SlyPokerDog

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Five detainees at the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison have been released in exchange for an American soldier who was taken hostage by the Taliban in 2009, US officials said..

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was set free early on Saturday, the Washington Post reported.

Bergdahl, who was the only American solider held prisoner in Afghanistan, was set free early on Saturday, according to AP.

It is reported that the transfer took place after a week of difficult negotiations mediated by the government of Qatar, which will now take custody of the released Gitmo prisoners.

According to the agreement between the US and the Taliban, the released inmates are Afghan nationals.

"Today the American people are pleased that we will be able to welcome home Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, held captive for nearly five years," Obama said in a statement after the swap.

"On behalf of the American people, I was honored to call his parents to express our joy that they can expect his safe return, mindful of their courage and sacrifice throughout this ordeal."

http://rt.com/news/162808-us-soldier-guantanamo-exchange/
 
I have mixed feelings about this, it's great to bring this soldier home but it could set up our service men and women to be kidnapped in the future for further prisoner exchanges.
 
I always thought "we don't negotiate with terrorists" was a real thing.
 
Release all of ours and we will send all of theirs back with a big bomb...solved.
 
SlyPokerDog said:
I have mixed feelings about this, it's great to bring this soldier home but it could set up our service men and women to be kidnapped in the future for further prisoner exchanges.
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Geez, the guys will have to quit wearing the uniform. They are now all high value targets, the less guarded the easier, the higher value.
We got one back, maybe 50 more abducted some where by the end of the year. Got a make this pay while the Americans are lead by the dull.
 
bodyman5000 and 1 said:
Release all of ours and we will send all of theirs back with a big bomb...solved.
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They just did release all of ours.

Now that they know they can get back 5 for 1 every time, kidnapping our guys and gals will be the #1 objective worldwide.

Seriously, EVERYONE knows that. This will come back to seriously tarnish Obama's legacy down the line.

Ironically he was backed into a corner by the recent political campaign of outrage over the VA, and had to do something to appease the military voters.

But this was not the correct move, and I'm amazed at how out of touch with real-world logic and reasoning this move appears to be.
 
MARIS61 said:
They just did release all of ours.

Now that they know they can get back 5 for 1 every time, kidnapping our guys and gals will be the #1 objective worldwide.

Seriously, EVERYONE knows that. This will come back to seriously tarnish Obama's legacy down the line.

Ironically he was backed into a corner by the recent political campaign of outrage over the VA, and had to do something to appease the military voters.

But this was not the correct move, and I'm amazed at how out of touch with real-world logic and reasoning this move appears to be.
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Rep!
 
We should tell the Taliban that Laker fans are worth 10 Guantanamo detainees.
 
SlyPokerDog said:
Duh, I just wanted to get rid of some Kobe fan boys.
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Duh, I just wanted HCP to call bullshit to out him as a Laker fan.
It is ok though, he is still trying to pronounce Afghanistan in his head. He won't click the thread.
 
That's not a future worry for me, it's been an on-going practice for thousands of years. This one came down to the only American held prisoner against how many Taliban it takes to screw in a lightbulb when there's a goat in the room
 
Israel has released large numbers of Hamas prisoners for even a single Isreali soldier. The sainted Ronald Reagan traded arms for hostages and used proceeds to illegally fund a war.

A lot more than 6 years ago.
Fact checking....
 
Thank God we broke the don't negotiate with terrorists rule for a deserter
 
When does this clown's court-martial start? When does he have to face the families of those who died looking for his deserting ass?

StaffSergeant Michael Murphrey, 25; Private First Class Matthew Michael
Martinek, 20; Second Lieutenant Darryn Andrews, 34; Staff Sergeant
Clayton Bowen, 29; Staff Sergeant Kurt Curtiss, 27; and Private First
Class Morris Walker, 23.
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crandc said:
Israel has released large numbers of Hamas prisoners for even a single Isreali soldier. The sainted Ronald Reagan traded arms for hostages and used proceeds to illegally fund a war.

A lot more than 6 years ago.
Fact checking....
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Strawmen and red herrings. Thanks for adding nothing.
 
PapaG said:
When does this clown's court-martial start? When does he have to face the families of those who died looking for his deserting ass?
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He's certainly no James Francis Ryan, is he?
 
No wonder the left is feting this guy as a hero. He's a deserter who says he was ashamed to be an American, his release let 5 Taliban senior officers go in exchange, and US troops were killed while searching for this piece of shit. Let's get the hearings on this going by the end of the week. So many questions need to be answered before this POS's court martial.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...-guy-who-walked-off-in-the-dead-of-night.html

We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night

For five years, soldiers have been forced to stay silent about the disappearance and search for Bergdahl. Now we can talk about what really happened.
It was June 30, 2009, and I was in the city of Sharana, the capitol of Paktika province in Afghanistan. As I stepped out of a decrepit office building into a perfect sunny day, a member of my team started talking into his radio. “Say that again,” he said. “There’s an American soldier missing?”

There was. His name was Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, the only prisoner of war in the Afghan theater of operations. His release from Taliban custody on May 31 marks the end of a nearly five-year-old story for the soldiers of his unit, the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. I served in the same battalion in Afghanistan and participated in the attempts to retrieve him throughout the summer of 2009. After we redeployed, every member of my brigade combat team received an order that we were not allowed to discuss what happened to Bergdahl for fear of endangering him. He is safe, and now it is time to speak the truth.

And that the truth is: Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down.

On the night prior to his capture, Bergdahl pulled guard duty at OP Mest, a small outpost about two hours south of the provincial capitol. The base resembled a wagon circle of armored vehicles with some razor wire strung around them. A guard tower sat high up on a nearby hill, but the outpost itself was no fortress. Besides the tower, the only hard structure that I saw in July 2009 was a plywood shed filled with bottled water. Soldiers either slept in poncho tents or inside their vehicles.

The next morning, Bergdahl failed to show for the morning roll call. The soldiers in 2nd Platoon, Blackfoot Company discovered his rifle, helmet, body armor and web gear in a neat stack. He had, however, taken his compass. His fellow soldiers later mentioned his stated desire to walk from Afghanistan to India.

The Daily Beast’s Christopher Dickey later wrote that "[w]hether Bergdahl…just walked away from his base or was lagging behind on a patrol at the time of his capture remains an open and fiercely debated question.” Not to me and the members of my unit. 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.
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Mediocre Man said:
He's certainly no James Francis Ryan, is he?
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Charles Robert Jenkins seems a more appropriate comparison. Jenkins was convicted of desertion, served 30 days in military prison, and was dishonorably discharged. That's the precedent, although I don't think Obama has the balls to do right by those who died looking for this scumbag.
 
do deserters really rile you guys up or something?
 
3RA1N1AC said:
do deserters really rile you guys up or something?
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When 6 soldiers die looking for him ... yeah. At the very least, don't have a huge press conference trying to make the deserter into a hero, but Obama can't stay away from the cameras, and needed a shiny object to distract from the VA death panels.
 
riverman said:
That's not a future worry for me, it's been an on-going practice for thousands of years. This one came down to the only American held prisoner against how many Taliban it takes to screw in a lightbulb when there's a goat in the room
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This.
 
well, its not his fault that the soldiers died

he certainly doesnt sound like much of a hero though
 
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/01/us/bergdahl-deserter-or-hero/

I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything going on,” said former Sergeant Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl’s platoon when he went missing on June 30, 2009. “Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him.”

Vierkant said Bergdahl needs to not only acknowledge his actions publicly but face a military trial for desertion under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

A reporter asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Sunday whether Bergdahl had left his post without permission or deserted — and, if so, whether he would be punished. Hagel didn’t answer directly. “Our first priority is assuring his well-being and his health and getting him reunited with his family,” he said. “Other circumstances that may develop and questions, those will be dealt with later.”
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riverman said:
That's not a future worry for me, it's been an on-going practice for thousands of years. This one came down to the only American held prisoner against how many Taliban it takes to screw in a lightbulb when there's a goat in the room
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You may want to read the WikiLeaks files on the 5 Taliban members released. That way, you won't seem so ignorant on this subject. These weren't 5 goat herders picked up out of a field.
 
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