The release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier held captive in Afghanistan, has been a source of celebration but also concern in Washington. While the country has long insisted that it would not negotiate with terrorists, it seems like it has been doing precisely that for years in working out a trade that ultimately led to the release of five Taliban leaders. More importantly, federal law requires notice to Congress some 30 days before a release of a detainee from Guantanamo Bay — another federal provision that the White House appears to have simply ignored in a unilateral act. I am scheduled to discuss the case on CNN on Monday morning.
The circumstances of Bergdahl’s capture remain suspicious. He claimed in a videotape as a captive that he lagged behind a patrol and was captured. A friend who works closely with the military in Afghanistan says that that is highly unlikely given the protocols used on patrols. Fellow soldiers claim that Bergdahl was a deserter. My friend says that he was told that Bergdahl walked away from this base. He is quoted as saying that he was ashamed of being an American and disenchanted with the mission in Afghanistan. He was listed as missing in June 2009, three days after reportedly sending his parents an e-mail stating “I am ashamed to be an American” and “The horror that is America is disgusting.” Those sources say that he voluntarily left the mountain base. Worse yet, American soldiers were killed reportedly looking for Bergdahl, though there is still uncertainty about that claim.
That could put the President in a rough position. He declared that
“Sergeant Bergdahl has missed birthdays, and holidays and simple moments with family and friends which all of us take for granted. But while Bowe was gone, he was never forgotten”— not by his family or his hometown in Idaho, or the military. “And he wasn’t forgotten by his country, because the United States of America does not ever leave our men and women in uniform behind.”
If Bergdahl is a deserter, there will be pressure to charge him, but the trade may become even less popular if he is sitting in a brig. [Update: when I appeared on CNN this morning, the network aired the following statement from one of his former platoon members, Sgt. Matt Vierkant: “I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything going on. Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him.”]
Critics are likely to demand answers about his actions and alleged dissection while detailing the threat of these five leaders as well as their alleged Al-Qaeda connections. On the other hand, the White House is insisting that, with troops leaving the country, they needed to get him out and had no choice but to relent to the demand for a trade. The White House could also argue that the status of these Gitmo detainees remains a problem and the country cannot hold them indefinitely — so that these five would have had to be returned to Afghanistan eventually unless we were to use the widely ridiculed tribunal system.
Then there is the question of negotiating with terrorists and failing to comply with federal law.
Congressional leaders have warned that such trades only increase the incentive to capture U.S. soldiers and citizens around the world. The Taliban do not represent a nation state and many accuse them of regularly engaging in acts that would be deemed terrorism by the United States. The Obama Administration may be in the curious position of now insisting that they are freedom fighters or a legitimate military force rather than terrorists.
The federal law adds the obligation to notify congressional committees at least 30 days before making any transfers of prisoners with explanations of the conditions and arrangements for such releases. No such notice was given. While President Obama denounced signing statements by George W. Bush as a Senator and as a candidate for the presidency, he issued such a signing statement when the law was passed to say that the condition was unconstitutional as an infringement upon his powers as commander in chief. He appears in clear violation of federal law. You may recall then candidate Barack Obama promising “I taught the Constitution for 10 years, I believe in the Constitution and I will obey the Constitution the of the United States. We’re not gonna use signing statements as a way to do an end-run around Congress, alright?”
I recently testified (here and here and here) and wrote a column on President Obama’s increasing circumvention of Congress in negating or suspending U.S. laws.
It is notable that Obama is again claiming near absolute executive power (and augmenting this claim with the use of the controversial signing statement tactic). He is claiming that Congress cannot limit — even with a notice requirement — his control over detainees at Gitmo. It is another glimpse into what I once called the “uber presidency” that has emerged under the last two presidents.
The five men released are considered highly dangerous. Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa and Abdul Haq Wasiq are classified as a “high risk” to the United States. Two others, Mohammad Fazl and Mullah Norullah Mori, were present during the 2001 prison riot at Mazar-e Sharif when CIA paramilitary officer Johnny Micheal Spann was killed. Fazl is thought to be the Taliban “army chief of staff”) and a longtime al-Qaeda ally. Wasiq reportedly helped train al-Qaeda. Mullah Norullah Noori, a senior military commander also reportedly have ties with al-Qaeda. Khairullah Khairkhwa, a Taliban governor was also allegedly an al-Qaeda trainer. One is believed to be responsible for the deaths of scores of Shiites in acts of religious terror.
The agreement only reportedly includes a one-year travel ban — making it likely that these Taliban commanders will be back on the front lines.
The Administration has been negotiating on this trade for sometimes — years according to some reports. Yet, it clearly decided to violate federal law and not inform Congress. Once again, it is not clear who would have the standing to challenge such a violation due to the rigid standing doctrine created by the federal courts — an issue that I have raised previously in my testimony to Congress.
Putting aside the violation of federal law, do you believe that the United States should negotiate with groups like the Taliban or make trades with such captors? If not, where do we draw the line — with soldiers to exclude citizens? There are clearly arguments to be made by those who believe that we should negotiate with terrorists but the current official policy is that we do not.
Oh dear. I’m misremembering again. I thought one of the cultists had mentioned yesterday that Bowe Bergdahl’s parents were being attacked.
Paul,
That’s not an answer to my questions.
Elaine – my answer will answer all of your questions.
Here’s some GOOD news!
Remember when we were recently warned and roundly chastised that Michael Johnston had been ‘blacklisted’ as the commencement speaker at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education? It was implied that this blacklisting was the fault of the same type of people as the marginalized and cultists found here
Well guess what?
Michael Johnston successfully delivered the 2014 commencement speech!
One ‘blacklisting never happened. One warning completely unwarranted.
Paul,
Who conducted the investigation for ows exposed? Can you provide a link to the investigation report?
Elaine – just put ows esposed into your search engine and click. Should come right up.
Shame on us cultists! We haven’t given someone enough attention for doing our homework for us! Everyone meet in the gym tomorrow AM for a detention. Kind of like the Breakfast Club. 😀
It’s funny. I had to point out to the cultists a legit avenue to explore, that being the trashing of Bob Bergdahl. It couldn’t be because I’m spending my time gathering information rather than taking middle school attacks @ people w/o doing any homework.
Well here’s some GOOD news!
Remember when we were warned and roundly chastised that Michael Johnston had been ‘blacklisted’ from the Harvard Graduate School of Education commencement? Much approbation heaped on the ‘marginalized’ and ‘cultists’ found here.
Guess what?
Michael Johnston did indeed deliver the commencement speech.
Scratch one blacklisting.
Paul,
Is there a published investigation report about crimes committed by OWS protesters?
ows exposed is considered a publication for libel purposes, so yes.
Bill O’Reilly, Muslim-Hunter
Bowe Bergdahl’s father practices Islam because…he has a beard and speaks a foreign language. Yes, Fox News’s has some real super sleuths.
Dean Obeidallah
6/5/14
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/05/bill-o-reilly-muslim-hunter.html
Excerpt:
Bill O’Reilly isn’t just an awe-inspiring successful television host, he’s also “The Muslim Hunter.” His Islamadar is so strong he can instantly tell if a person is a Muslim.
We saw O’Reilly’s superhuman Muslim-hunting powers on display Wednesday night as he made the case for why Robert Bergdahl, the father of the POW released by the Taliban, was likely a Muslim. Sure, Bergdahl can claim all he wants that he’s a devout Presbyterian, but Bill won’t be taken in by that spin.
Instead, O’Reilly, in his typically insightful style that has made him the darling of angry, old white people across the country, stated: “The reason I said that Robert Bergdahl looks like a Muslim is because he looks like a Muslim.” Bingo! Journalism at its best!
Bill then graciously shared with us a glimpse into his Muslim identifying genius. He listed three O’Reilly factors that prove his theory about Bergdahl: “A) He absolutely looked like a Muslim. B) He talked in Pashto, the language of the Taliban. And C) He thanked Allah.”
Being a mere mortal who lacks O’Reilly’s keen Muslim hunting skills, I would’ve never realized that Bergdahl looked like a Muslim as he stood next to President Obama earlier this week at the White House. Bergdahl was dressed in a white dress shirt with a blue tie and sporting plain pocket khaki pants. Could this mean that every assistant manager at The Gap is a crypto-Muslim?
But then I saw what O’Reilly meant: Bergdahl has a beard! Yes, of course, how could I miss that?! Bergdahl hadn’t grown a beard like he told reporters in 2012 as a way to better understand the world his son was being held captive. Nope, he did it because he’s a Muslim. Apparently, the hipsters I see in Brooklyn are not trying to be cool, they are actually Muslims. And the Duck Dynasty dudes must be really, really devout Muslims.
O’Reilly, of course, nailed factor #2: Pashto is the “language of the Taliban.” Some would argue that Pashto is simply the language spoken by the 50 million plus Pashtuns who live in primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Or that Bergdahl learned Pashto so he could make a direct plea to his son’s captors via YouTube videos to save his life.
And lastly, O’Reilly noted that Bergdahl thanked “Allah.” To be honest, that was a gimme. Everyone knows that if you thank “Allah,” you’re clearly a Muslim, including the thousands of Arab Christians who use the word Allah for God every day. It moments like these that make me realize that O’Reilly is very special.
But O’Reilly is not alone at Fox News in possessing super powers in understanding Muslims. There’s also Sean Hannity and Fox News contributor Allen West. Fox News is like the X-Men when it comes to Islam.
West, the former one term Republican Congressman, thankfully exposed Bergdahl’s nefarious Muslim plot which most of us would have missed. You see, while Bergdahl was standing next to Obama at the White House, he stated in Arabic: “In the name of God, most gracious, most compassionate.” So what, you ask? Don’t you get it?! As West noted, by saying those words, Bergdahl has claimed the White House for Islam!
Damn, that West is good. I have to admit being a Muslim myself, although I don’t sport a beard, West has figured out our greatest power. By simply saying those nine simple words we can magically claim anything for Islam, presto-chango. I do it all the time. Just yesterday I claimed a local deli, a small poodle and a Bed, Bath and Beyond. Plus we can claim people. In fact, boom, I just claimed Allen West for Islam—look forward to seeing him at the meetings.
Not to be out done, last night on Fox News, Sean Hannity showed off his Muslim explaining powers by claiming that these nine magic words are actually a, “war cry for Allah.” And then something horrible happened: one of Hannity’s guests said those words out loud and inadverntly claimed Fox News for Islam. Awkward.
Elaine – thanks for the link. They had enough writers to make up their own OWS protest. Surprisingly, they did not go into the abuse of women by the protesters or the deaths of protesters. They were hyper-focused on the police action. A balanced report would have acknowledged the abuse of women protesters, the murders, thefts, etc.
Eric, our troops aren’t the sacrificial lambs that will keep Al Queda from harming us here. Nor are they to be used to keep the Afghan people from their own devices. We can’t keep our troops in countries that embrace extremist Islam. We don’t have the numbe of troops we need nor he funds. America is war weary.
Paul,
I provided a link to the article that contained that information. The article includes a link to the investigation report. The article was posted by a credible source. You can check it out for yourself.
For your convenience, I’ll post a link to the pdf report:
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/politics/Suppressing%20Protest.pdf
Why not post a link to your OWS crimes chart?
Feynman, I predict we are going to see some major backtracking when it comes to the besmirching of the Bergdahl family by those on the right. They made themselves look like the haters they are.
Steve Kellam,
The Obama administration certainly prefers that the public focus on Bergdahl minutia instead of the consequences from releasing virtually unconditionally the 5 most senior and dangerous Taliban commanders we had in custody.
Eric – the Obama administration is in full spin mode on Bergdahl.
Paul S.
How about some citations on that list of OWS offenses? Also – citations on convictions.
Without that, what you have posted is meaningless..
ows exposed.
I really do not believe in coincidences. They were in DC to honor their son and just happened to be there for the announcement? Really, you are buying that?
mespo – isn’t college the place where you are supposed to hear things you don’t like?
Nick
Write to Fox with your concerns about Bob Bergdahl. Some of those idiots were aghast that Obama placed his arm on them and cheered them with a soft ‘it’s a good day’. And I thought you were pretty incensed that they were in the Rose Garden. Do you know that it was a coincidence that they were in Washington for Memorial Day (in order to honor their son) and they could stay for the announcement?
BTW. The announcement was on Saturday. I think you’ve often stated that Saturday announcements are horsesh*t – just news dumps that are meant to be overlooked.
Just not this one, I guess.
Annie,
Taliban mainly want to kill Americans because the Americans have been the main obstruction and opposing force to the Taliban’s terroristic rule over Afghanistan and the reification of the larger worldview that they share with al Qaeda.
Maybe some folks should apologize to Bob Bergdahl for dehumanizing his son.