Obama: Mission Accomplished With PFC Bergdahl

The Taliban’s release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl dominated the Sunday talk shows, pushing Friday’s resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki from the headlines.

The Sunday shows were packed with administration officials defending the decision and Republicans launching into political attacks against President Obama and the administration for transferring five Taliban members from Guantanamo Bay to Qatar in exchange for the release of Bergdahl, the 28-year-old whom the Taliban released on Saturday.

In other words, “Dude, that VA thing was, like a week ago, it’s, like, old news.” Mission accomplished.

The administration trotted out their favorite talking head to dispense the appropriate set of lies on Sunday. Susan “It was a video…” Rice did her best again.

“Sergeant Bergdahl wasn’t simply a hostage; he was an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield,” National Security Adviser Susan Rice asserted Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

At least Rice didn’t, or hasn’t yet, trotted out the “Bergdahl was making a video for Army Public Affairs”, but we’re expecting it any time .

The administration’s talking points are at a significant dislocation with the accounts of the soldiers who served with PFC Bergdahl. Before we go any further, we need to clarify Bergdahl’s rank. When he allegedly deserted he was a Private First Class. He is being referred to as “Sergeant” by the administration because, apparently, if a soldier is taken POW his pay rate is automatically adjusted to “E5,” and the corresponding rank is Sergeant. Sergeants are non-commissioned officers and they are considered to be the grease that moves the military.  Bergdahl did not in any way, in his previous service, EARN the rank of Sergeant. It was, appropriately for this administration, given to him.

Here are some accounts of Bergdahl’s “disappearance” from the men with whom he served.

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.

Note that the above, and the rest of the story which you should read at the link, is from the DailyBeast, a lefty publication.  Speaking of lefties, Time has an article indicating that six soldiers were killed searching for this coward.

The bile surrounding his rescue is blunt on his Fort Richardson, Alaska brigade’s Facebook page:

“I say we welcome him home with a firing squad.,” one says. “He’s a piece of trash and everyone from [Fort Richardson] knows it the only person less American than that man is the president for giving up 5 hvt’s [High-Value Targets]”

“Now he can stand trial for deserting his post,” says one message on his unit’s Facebook page—a sentiment that has garnered 44 “likes”.

“Do you know how many families never saw their loved ones because of him?” a third poster asked.

We will have more on this story in the coming days. Bergdahl is the poster boy for our boy President and his media team. We’re hoping Private Bergdahl’s (we will no longer refer to his given rank) unit members keep the pressure on.