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| President with parents of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl |
The family of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was overjoyed when President Barack Obama personally called them Saturday and gave them the news they were desperately hoping to hear: Their son, captured by the Taliban in 2009, was still alive. And he was finally coming home.
“We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only son,” Bergdahl’s parents, Bob and Jani Bergdahl, said in a statement, thanking supporters and those who helped secure his return without a single shot fired.
“And of course, we want to take this opportunity to thank all those in the many U.S. Government agencies who never gave up,” the statement continued. “Today, we are ecstatic!”
Bergdahl, 28, was rescued Saturday evening local time (10:30 a.m. ET) in eastern Afghanistan — in exchange for five prisoners who were held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center — and is back in the hands of the U.S. military, officials said.
“Sergeant Bergdahl's recovery is a reminder of America's unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield,” Obama said in a statement.
Apparently Bergdahl was captured after he wandered away from his military base in eastern Afghanistan.
The exchange for his freedom happened without any shots being fired, and has been heralded by many as a victory of diplomacy.
Well unless you are former Ambassador to the UN John Bolton that is:
Just hours after the president announced that 28-year-old Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl had been freed, Bolton told Fox News host Jeanine Pirro that a dangerous precedent had been set by trading five Guantanamo Bay prisoners for one American.
“The president has sent the Taliban an unmistakable signal that he will pay any price to get the United States out, and that’s a signal that’s bad for Taliban and al Qaeda to hear and our adversaries around the world,” Bolton opined. “And perhaps even worse, it is despicable for a president of the United States to grant moral equivalence to these terrorist in Gitmo compared to an American servicemember. The idea that there’s any equivalence at all between and American soldier and a terrorist, I think, is reprehensible.”
Pirro argued that Obama was “putting us in jeopardy” by accepting Qatar’s assurances that the five prisoners would not return to the battlefield.
“Well, he is,” Bolton agreed. “When you put a price on an American like Sgt. Bergdahl, you put a price on all Americans, and the Taliban know that.”
“And basically teeing it up for Americans to be abducted!” Pirro declared.
Yes so much better to leave this man in the clutches of the Taliban for another five years, or until he dies, rather than to show any sign of weakness by negotiating for his freedom.
Personally I think that any advice coming from somebody in the Bush administration about what to do about our military, Afghanistan, or any other fucking thing, should be ignored completely.
After all these were the assholes that got us into this mess in the first place.
Message to John Bolton: Who the hell asked for your opinion? Besides, we know you only exist to criticize our President and his administration. Go back under whichever rock from which you slithered out. You and your phony patriots (i.e. The GOP) should be ashamed!
ReplyDeleteI would like one member of Congress or any of the other critics of this rescue to volunteer one of their own children to be left behind as a hostage, a POW, and let's poll the results - one hand needed for the count? I doubt it.
DeleteLet see.. the Iran hostages were not a war time.. it was Carters failure.... they had not other people there.. and the guy obama let traded terrorist for deserted.. with 3 afghans.. totally different
DeleteThank you, President Obama, for negotiating (w/a lot of help!) the release of this soldier! His family and friends are elated as well as Americans across the nation!
ReplyDeleteBolton, you sexist, racist piece of American exceptionalism bullshit! exactly why the rightwingnuts like you should be condemned in the strongest terms possible. There is no equivalence - as if those prisoners of Gitmo and torture victims don't have families who care about them , too; as if other countries aren't allowed to believe in their own exceptionalism. You're nothing but a jingoist , has been bully, Boltie-boy. (Oh, and that hair and mustache went out with '70's leisure suits.
ReplyDeleteThe question begs, why if you were going to negotiate a prisoner swap, would you wait 5 years?
ReplyDeleteThere is more to this (as there always is) than meets the eye. Hopefully it wasn't a publicity stunt to take attention away from something else.
They have been negotiating for years.
DeleteI find it interesting that we have become a nation of conspiracy nuts. Maybe its just with this president. It always has to be that if something decent happens its to hide something bad. Well--guess what? There are always good and bad things happening in the world.
There will always be good and bad things happening in the world. There has ALWAYS been good and bad things happening in the world.
I figure any minute now some of us will become pitchfork wielding villagers that kill strangers who enter the town because a cow stops giving milk. Has it really come to this?
Right. Because this President is always after publicity, and always hides from criticism. What planet are you on? Gitmo should have been shuttered five years ago, and would have been, except for fear-mongers like Bolton and Fox, who want the US in perpetual wars. How do you know those five are not innocent?
DeleteThe question does not beg.
Deletehttp://www.fallacyfiles.org/begquest.html
Fuck you John Bolton!
ReplyDeleteJohn Bolton is one of the worst of the worst of the G W Bush administration. He can rot in hell as far as I’m concerned.
ReplyDeleteThink about this seriously ... do we really think that the Taliban et al. are now more likely to abduct an American given a chance?! Asked another way, would the Taliban have let an American go prior to this 'precedent'? The republican talking point is completely devoid of any logic - oops, my bad, redundant.
ReplyDeleteIf this happened under W, they'd be singing his praises. They are just incensed that President Obama doesn't want to bomb the crap out of everywhere.
ReplyDeleteAmazing. Neocons like Bolton should be thanking his lucky stars that he isn't in prison where he belongs with Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and the idiot W. I swear if the President ended all wars they'd want him impeached because he bankrupted the weapons manufacturers.
ReplyDeleteThey are all beyond repellent at this point.
Only right wing nutjobs give a shit about anything that Bolton, or anyone else from the Bush administration, thinks.
ReplyDeleteWhen no one else will act on anything except to say "No" or criticize an action, what is a body to do?
ReplyDeleteThis president is so strong, smart, energetic and wiser in the ways of the world than any of those ignorant blowhards that demean him every hour of every day. It is called jealousy and racial hatred.
Deny that you right wingers trying to take away women's rights and Medicare and Social Security.
Bolton is a nut job. When he was appointed to be our U.N. Ambassador by Bush, the Nation's standing among our world peers took a nose dive. He has embarrassed himself and our Nation again and again. Bolton took the pre-emptive war rhetoric of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rice and ran with it. He is just as guilty of war crimes as the above mentioned bunch. And if these guys are getting their panties in a wad about the swapping of our soldier for 5 detainees (not charged with any crime, nor in the process of ever getting any kind of trial) at Gitmo, then I KNOW this was a great decision by our President and his military advisors.
ReplyDeletehedgewytch... would you mind if I add Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Pearle to the list of nefarious neocons? I know there are many more, now ensconced in so-called Think Tanks, who should have met the US Justice System, but these are equal to Turdblossom (W's term of endearment of Karl Rove) who still is in the machine.
DeleteBolton represents the part of America bent on proving what remains of its manhood by whatever means possible and to whatever end no matter the cost to humanity.
ReplyDelete"teeing it up for Americans to be abducted"……
ReplyDeleteWell Mr Bolton, that began with the invasion of the region by the failed Cheney/Bush regime with the inspiration of PNAC.
Remember that?
We do!
Apparently, it is ok to exchange arms for prisoners, as was done a la IranContra, by the Republians, just not American prisoners. They must rot in foreign prisons to prove some inane Republican point.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is that they are pissed off that President Obama used his executive leadership and didn't consult the assholes in Congress, so they weren't able to block him, like they did the last time that this opportunity to rescue him had happened. He had signed the law about informing Congress, but when he did, he used a signing statement with it to open up the way for him to make a move without those assholes. And they're spittin' mad about it. I'm SURE we'll be hearing them yelping about it for awhile. Impeach! And all that crap.
ReplyDeleteHouse GOPer: Prisoner Exchange For Bergdahl 'Dangerous'
..."So many of us are concerned about what really is a break with U.S. policy of not negotiating with terrorists," he said on CNN's State of the Union, according to The Hill.
"We have now set a price," Rogers continued. “If you negotiate here, you’ve sent a message to every Al Qaeda group in the world – by the way, some who are holding U.S. hostages today – that there is some value now in that hostage in a way that they didn’t have before. That is dangerous.”
...National security adviser Susan Rice told CNN's Candy Crowley that she wouldn't characterize Bergdahl's release as negotiating with terrorists.
“When we are in battles with terrorists, and the terrorists take an American prisoner, that prisoner is still a U.S. serviceman or woman. We still have a sacred obligation to bring that person back," Rice said.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rogers-bergdahl-release-dangerous-al-qaeda
The president has been trying to get other countries to accept GB prisoners for 5 years so he could close Gitmo. U.S, congress refuses to allow them to be released into the United States. Finally, we have 5 fewer prisoners in an illegal prison and that much closer to shutting the thing down.
ReplyDeleteHa, ha! As usual, our President is running circles around the GOP. They are absolutely FUMING that he took the step he did, and didn't let them try to stop the rescue. President Obama is a champ!
ReplyDelete“First of all, we didn’t negotiate with terrorists,” Hagel said. “Sergeant Bergdahl is a prisoner of war. That’s a normal process in getting your prisoners back. Second, we are dealing with terrorism and hostage taking all the time everywhere. I think America’s record is pretty clear on going after terrorists, especially those who take hostages, and I don’t think what we did in getting our prisoner of war released in any way would somehow encourage terrorists to take our American service men prisoner or hostage.”
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mediaite.com/tv/defense-sec-hagel-we-didnt-negotiate-with-terrorists/
One of the other complaints lodged against the exchange is that President Obama did not provide Congress with the 30-day notice required for releasing prisoners of war. Rice explained that the Departments of Defense and Justice had reasons to be seriously concerned about the urgent state of Sgt. Bergdahl’s health, and noted that Congress had long been informed that such negotiations were already underway.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking about the exchange on Saturday, President Obama asserted that we have made “an ironclad commitment to bring our prisoners of war home” because “it’s a profound obligation within our military.”
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/06/01/3443552/republicans-obama-bergdahl/
President Obama could have made a peanut buttery and jelly sandwich on Saturday and Republicans all over the country would have criticized the choice of bread, the jelly selection, how the sandwich was cut and whether or not he got chunky or creamy because one is correct and the other freakin' Benghazi evil. The entire party has lost all credibility with me.
ReplyDelete"The Departments of Defense and Justice had reasons to be seriously concerned about the urgent state of Sgt. Bergdahl’s health, and noted that Congress had long been informed that such negotiations were already underway".
ReplyDeleteSo why didn't republicans voice their concern before now?
Well, they weighed their options. And decided that preventing his release wouldn't go over very well. But bashing Obama after his release would score them a few petty political points with their brain dead Obama hating constituents.
If Cruz or any of the other critics of Obama's decision to release the detainees had a son in the hands of the enemy, they'd get down on their knees to suck on the terrorist's you know what pretty fast. After all, they have a lot of experience in this action, what with all the corporate bribes they take to maintain their office. Hypocrites.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best positive news and so thankful these parents are reconciled to their son, when they thought all was lost.
ReplyDeleteThen, the nasty starts. Jeanine with her plastic face and snarl and hatred of the President, and Fox News crew just can't not attack POTUS. They can't rejoice with those who rejoice. They wear their crosses on chains and curse every good thing that happens, because of the black man in the White House.
Anyone who has lost family members overseas would never see their loved ones again in the event John Bolton, and the neocons were in charge. They cry and whine about the Iranian pastor being jailed, because they say, he's being persecuted for his christianity, but they'd allow one of their military, rot in a jail because it might offend the Taliban? Loyalty to the troops? They don't mind when military do heroic acts, like not leaving any man behind, but they display NO heroism. They use and abuse their men and women in uniform for their own agendas. Sarah Palin, Jeannine Pirro, the whole lot of them, patriotic fakes, all of them.
ReplyDeleteGee, if trading prisoners is bad for the US, what exactly was torture and holding people without charges or trials? Please proceed GOP. The IRS was not a scandal, Benghazi is not a scandal, the VA IS, but it's because of Bush and the GOP that it is this bad. Now this? I'm sure we're going to hear more calls for committees and hearings and impeachment. Keep it up..pretty soon your voters will be our voters.
ReplyDeleteAre you people dense ?
ReplyDeleteYou have an "evil" terrorist group that keeps a single american alive for 5 years,
Terrorists act on a gorrilla warfare mentality
Kill or be killed
So why keep a hostage alive for 5 years, when he should have been dead within a week
This is just another cloak and dagger move by the goverment to distract us from whats really going on
If that is satire, it is really poor. If you are serious, you are fucking nuts. What size is your tinfoil hat?
DeleteHere are crazy assed GOP responses for you 11:25
Deletein case you run out of the crazy.
Birtherism--He's not one of us
Obama wants our kids educated--We prefer them dumb.
The census is taken--He's going to put us in camps.
He welcomes children back to school--how dare he.
He supports public education--He's a Nazi.
Or . . . .
He's weak.
He's a dictator.
He's a weak dictator.
He's going to eat us and our old people.
He gets healthcare for people---he's trying to kill us all.
Healthy eating--we want our kids fat and diabetic
Getting us out of wars--he's a coward
Saving the auto industry---Mitt did it.
Gets Bin Laden--W did it.
Gets a prisoner of war home--Ahhhh, he's trying to hide something.
To call you people stupid is too kind.
He was the only hostage they had.
DeleteThey initially asked for a million dollars and I think 20 something prisoners. So this is the bottom line of a haggle that's been going on for five years.
God you're a jackass. 2 elections ago I'll bet you voted for John McCain, remember him? He was a POW for 5 years and he was returned. You are so fucking stupid!
DeleteAnyone remember arms for hostages under Ronald Reagan? Anyone? ...
ReplyDeleteYep. The GOP assholes seems to have forgotten how. Reagan swapped guns with Iran, in exchange for 7 Americans in Lebanon.
DeleteUS Negotiates Release Of POW, And The GOP Throws A Tantrum
ReplyDelete...First, let’s address the “law-breaking Obama” theme which will be bandied about on Fox and on Sarah Palin’s Facebook page for weeks to come. Let’s put that to bed. As reported by the Daily Beast, “Many in Congress will still be opposed to the swap, but lawmakers gave up their right to stop it. A small change in the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed last December, now makes it only a requirement that the Defense Secretary notify Congress when releasing Guantanamo prisoners. Before the change, Congressional sign off on any Guantanamo releases would have been needed.” Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel did, in fact, notify Congress of the U.S.’s intention to transfer five prisoners held at Gitmo to Qatar in exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/06/01/sergeant-bowe-bergdahl-released/
You don't have to be a genius to have seen this coming. And expect more of it in the days to come. The GOP could care less about that soldier. They just use military personnel for fundraising and photo ops; decorating themselves in the flag, if you will.
ReplyDeleteBut anyone who believes in that flag would be advocating for the release of all the prisoners at Gitmo. If they are guilty of something, then charge them and have a trial. But if there is no evidence with which to charge them, they need to go home. That is what our flag stands for and that is the American thing to do.
These days, we need to worry about nuts with guns more than any so-called terrorists.
Sucks so much to be you, Tundra Twatwaffle!
ReplyDeleteLOL
ROFLMAO
BWAAHAAHAAHAAHAA
Bergdahl's Mother Sends Message To Son In Emotional Press Conference (VIDEO)
ReplyDeletehttp://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bergdahl-mother-letter-to-son
Bergdahl’s Parents in Teary Conference: ‘Proud of How Far You Went to Help Afghan People’
ReplyDeleteThe parents of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was released by the Taliban this weekend after five years in captivity, addressed the media on Sunday, expressing love for their son, joy at his release, and solidarity with other families with relatives still in captivity around the world.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bergdahls-parents-in-teary-conference-proud-of-how-far-you-went-to-help-afghan-people/
Sleazy Republicans Hit An All Time Low By Accusing Obama of Negotiating With Terrorists
ReplyDeleteRepublicans have shown they there is no limit to their Obama hate by warping the freeing of a captured soldier in Afghanistan into an allegation that the president negotiates with terrorists.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/06/01/sleazy-republicans-hit-time-accusing-obama-negotiating-terrorists.html
Republican Cry Babies Wanted Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Left Behind
ReplyDelete...Time was of importance according to the White House. The window to take advantage of this opportunity was closing fast. Our commander-in-chief, duly elected to make these decisions, decisively acted. And today Sgt. Bergdahl is a free man.
So why are the Republicans so angry with our president? According to them, he broke the law to free this prisoner. And you know what, they're partially right. U.S. law requires the president to notify Congress 30 days before any terrorists are transferred from the U.S. facility. But what if the window of opportunity didn't allow for 30 days to make this move? Should we have just left one of our own brave soldiers behind to face torture or death? A few Republicans are saying so.
http://freakoutnation.com/2014/06/01/republican-cry-babies-wanted-sgt-bowe-bergdahl-left-behind/
President Obama issued a "signing statement" (as George W. Bush often did) giving himself the opportunity to make an exception to the 30-day notification if needed. This circumstance clearly necessitated that exception. Republicans, who right now want everyone to think that they care about the military and about veterans, have no right to be whining.
DeleteBeaglemom
Dozens of US Special Forces troops backed up by helicopters were sent to an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan where Taliban militants handed over Bergdahl, defence officials have said.
ReplyDelete"Fortunately, no shots were fired," Hagel explained. "There was no violence. It went as well as we not only had expected and planned, but I think as well as it could have."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/01/defense-secretary-hagel-makes-unannounced-afghan-trip-after-release-of-american-soldier/
U.S. troops in Afghanistan ‘so happy’ Sgt. Bergdahl released by Taliban militants
ReplyDeleteBergdahl's release was reassuring for troops as it showed the US government had worked relentlessly to secure his freedom, he said.
"Whatever your beliefs, if you think we should be here or we shouldn't be here, we have someone, an American, in captivity and we've got to get him. I think everyone can agree on that," he said.
"Someone was out there pushing for this. I'm thankful for that."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/01/u-s-troops-in-afghanistan-so-happy-sgt-bergdahl-released-by-taliban-militants/
California Democrat Slams Republicans On Their Criticism Of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s Release
ReplyDelete... I’ve almost come to accept how the GOP objects to virtually anything this President does, but I’m truly appalled at the latest objections from the GOP over the President’s actions to free a captured U.S. soldier.
It’s absolutely disingenuous when members of the GOP such as Rep. Mike Rogers make statements such as “This fundamental shift in U.S. policy signals to terrorists around the world a greater incentive to take U.S. hostages” or Rep. Howard McKeon “Our terrorists adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. ”
It’s completely disingenuous or plain ignorance to make statements such as these. There has always been a risk of capture or kidnapping of Americans around the world.
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/06/01/california-democrat-slams-republicans-criticism-sgt-bowe-bergdahls-release.html
Spot On!
DeleteBolton and Pirro need to get a room. When President Obama said he'd do anything within his power to get things done despite the GOP's abstinence and stupidity, he keeps his eye on it like a hawk and when the time's right, he gets it done.
ReplyDeleteJohn McCain, unmaverick ungenius, blood luster blasted the release of five detainees to save a prisoner of war and President Obama, Boehner's even suggesting "laws were broken", do these fertilized chicken egg suckers have half a clue?
Yeah, it sucks that Gitmo's still open, but accusing in a roundabout way that a sitting President broke laws when all the facts aren't in just tells you all you need to know. Bush, Caucasian, anything goes, mission accomplished, woo hoo!
President Obama, African American, secures the release of a prisoner of war and laws were broken.
Susan Rice was on George Stephanopolis and they asked her something, and she said "IT's too soon to tell... but when the facts are all in we'll have a presser" The gop rep they had on made the strangest face, leaned back and rolled his eyes. Is it just me, or is a day or two or even a week too soon to tell? They haven't even debriefed him fully.
I'd like to know one accomplishment the GOP has had since Obama was voted in that didn't have some kind of democrat influence? Just one.
I love this website. Earlier I read the article in the New York Times online and many of the comments were downright creepy, full of complaints about how this trade endangers us all and how President Obama is so weak, that I just felt completely disillusioned by my fellow Americans. It is a joy to come to this site and read comments that assess the situation competently and correctly. I am so proud that President Obama is in charge and I am grateful for everything he has done for us as a people. It saddens me that the GOP has behaved so immaturely and so seditiously since January 2009. Not a single true patriot among them. And the same goes for those whining, complaining comments to the New York Times article.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
Praise from anyone that isn't a registered Republican.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to learn how Bolton would compare this situation to Reagan's giving 1,500 missiles to Iran in exchange for 3 U.S. hostages.
ReplyDelete