Bergdahl : a Soldier who Left His Post Traded for a "Taliban Dream Team"

Former UN Ambassador John Bolton is outspoken in his condemnation of the prisoner exchange that led to the repatriation of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl against the release of five senior Taliban Guantanamo detainees. Bolton sees it as a signal to the Taliban and al-Qaida that President Barack Obama is determined to pull out of Afghanistan, no matter what the cost. The agreement, according to Bolton, was a "substantial setback" in the war on terrorism and for countries worried about "declining American power and resolve." Bolton wrote : "Clear-eyed presidents must put America first in national security matters." Just days before Bergdahl's release, Obama said in his speech to West Point graduates that no matter what, US forces will be out of Afghanistan by 2016, and Bolton wrote : "If the terrorists still had even the slightest doubt that they needed only a minimal amount of patience to regain control in Kabul, Obama has done everything in his power to eliminate that. He is surrendering in Afghanistan." In addition, Bolton says it is "despicable" for a president to equate a service member with terrorist criminals. "This is the worst form of moral equivalence, the inexcusable mistake of equating two radically different kinds of people or policies," Bolton said. During the Cold War, he explained, the United States was right to exchange spies for spies with the Soviet Union but did not exchange soldiers for criminals. In addition, Bolton wrote, Obama was "way off the mark" by trying to "disguise his error" by saying the exchange was consistent with the military's tradition of leaving no service members behind - a claim most of the military would reject. Bolton wrote it has been the United States' policy for years to refuse to negotiate with terrorists, especially for exchanging hostages, as doing so puts a price on Americans' heads. ~~~~~ Leaked details of the secret negotiations that began in 2011 and led to the exchange are now surfacing. The negotiations have been described unofficially by a State Department official, as well as other current and former US officials. The negotiating team included two each from the State Department and the Pentagon, one from the White House national security staff and two from the US Embassy in Doha. President Barack Obama, now in Europe for meetings with several nations' leaders and NATO officials, said Tuesday his administration had consulted with Congress about the exchange possibility "for some time." Obama was trying to deflect congressional anger over his concluding the exchange without giving Congress the 30-day notice required by a law that Obama himself signed. Most members of Congress who would have been in the notice chain say they received none, adding that when White House staff raised the possibility of a Bergdahl exchange a year ago, they were rebuffed by Republicans and Democrats alike. The prisoner exchange was one of three confidence-building measures that were meant to open the door for the Afghan government to hold direct peace negotiations with the Taliban. (Were the US diplomats having a Gulf State heat stroke when they produced this reasoning?) But when the Taliban prepared to open an office in Doha, Qatar, and raised over it a Taliban flag like that used when they controlled Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai became incensed because he saw that as a Taliban effort to set up a government-in-exile. While the office never opened, Qatar proved to be a good place to have back-channel communication with the Taliban. A State Department official, who has spent the past 11 days in Doha helping guide the final round of negotiations to release Bergdahl, said that after the office-opening incident, the US made it clear that it was amenable to indirect or direct talks with the Taliban. Negotiations began with the US seeking proof that Bergdahl was still alive. The Taliban sent a video of Bergdahl in January. No substantive discussion about terms of the swap occurred before both sides agreed to the latest talks, which started in late March or early April. US officials were never in the same room with the Taliban leaders. The US team would talk to the Qataris, who would then contact the Taliban. Sometimes a couple of weeks would pass before a response came from the Taliban on various issues involving the swap. In the last days leading up to Saturday's release, communication became more frequent and the turnaround time was only a day. By last Wednesday morning, US negotiators had finalized the broad terms of the agreement. Then it was down to risky logistics of actually transferring Bergdahl in a war zone where both sides, who are fighting each other, had to be present. ~~~~~ In a Facebook entry, General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave the military position, saying that the military would not “look away from misconduct” concerning how Bergdahl ended up in Taliban hands, but he still considers him “innocent until proven guilty.” “In response to those of you interested in my personal judgments about the recovery of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the questions about this particular soldier’s conduct are separate from our effort to recover ANY US service member in enemy captivity,” Dempsey wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday. “This was likely the last, best opportunity to free him. As for the circumstances of his capture, when he is able to provide them, we’ll learn the facts. Like any American, he is innocent until proven guilty. Our Army’s leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred. In the meantime, we will continue to care for him and his family." ~~~~~ The "details" of Bergdahl's capture will surely include information about his emails (see yesterday's blog) and a note Bergdahl left behind when he left his post. The note described by the person who debriefed two former members of Bergdahl’s unit is reported by Fox News to express his disillusionment with the Army and being an American and suggested that he wanted to renounce his American citizenship and go find the Taliban. US military officials would not confirm the existence of the letter, but if it does exist, it should be part of the original file on the investigation into Bergdahl’s disappearance. It should also be part of an unfinished 2010 Pentagon investigation that determined that Bergdahl left his post. Some of Bergdahl’s activities prior to his disappearance, including reportedly mailing his gear home, indicated premeditation, according to Cody Full, a 25-year-old former infantryman now living in Houston, who served with Bergdahl in Afghanistan. ~~~~~ Dear readers, President Obama on Tuesday defended the exchange decision, saying : "Regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an American soldier back if he's held in captivity. We don't condition that." In another bizarre turn, in a Tweet written four days before his son's release, that has since been removed without explanation, Sergeant Bergdahl's father, Bob, wrote : "I am still working to free all Guantanamo prisoners. God will repay for the death of every Afghan child. Ameen." -- I leave this one to you, dear readers. Was Bob Bergdahl talking to the Taliban, as he often did. Was he fulfilling a condition for the release. Was he advocating for Obama's position on closing Guantanamo. Is "Ameen" a typo or a coded message. I cannot explain this Tweet in rational terms. BUT -- in another irrational, albeit usual, complete lie, National Security Advisor Susan Rice said on Sunday that Bergdahl "served with honor and distinction." Perhaps Representative Trey Gowdy can add this whopper to his Benghazi file as corroborating evidence that Susan Rice is either a liar or Delusional...with a big "D".