Fair Trade and Other Bullshit

Today we go back to the subject of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. There are some interesting questions to be addressed.

Is Sgt. Bergdahl a hero or a traitor? When you look at the whole situation it is difficult not to come away with the view that he was in some significant ways a troubled young man. He had a naive and unrealistic view of his military service in Afghanistan. He seemed to believe that he was going to Afghanistan to help the Afghan people. In one of his emails home he stated the following: "We don't even care when we hear each other talk about running their children down in the dirt streets with our armored trucks....We make fun of them in front of their faces and laugh at them for not understanding we are insulting them." He said he was ashamed to be an American. Being disappointed in America's efforts in Afghanistan is not a sign that he was mentally ill. It might be a good idea to look at the fact that he left his base unarmed and walked into Taliban territory as a sign that his mental health was an issue. When Sgt. Bergdahl is back in the United States there is no question the Army will conduct a comprehensive review through interviews with him to determine the circumstances of  his disappearance and the nature of his captivity.

Did the White House violate US policy against negotiating with terrorist to secure his release? The general consensus from news organizations is that the Taliban is a terrorist organization and that talking to them is out of the question. As it turns out that is not the case. The Afghan Taliban has never been designated a terrorist organization by the United States or the United Nations. It is an enemy combatant. Based on that Sgt. Bergdahl was not kidnapped or held hostage. He was a soldier taken prisoner by the other side in an armed conflict. He was a prisoner of war the same as the five Taliban released from Guantanamo.

Who were the Taliban that were released? John McCain called them the worst murderers in human history. The reality seems somewhat less threatening. Khairullah Said Wali Khairkhwa was known by Guantanamo authorities as a hardliner in terms of Taliban philosophy. During the Emirate he was considered one of the more moderate Taliban in the leadership. Mullah Noorullah Noori and Mullah Mohammad Fazi negotiated the surrender of Taliban fighters to General Abdul Rashid Dostum in November 2001. They believed they were granted safe passage home. What actually happened was hundreds of Taliban fighters were killed and Fazi and Noori were arrested. Abdul Haq Wasiq was taken in a sting operation. He was cooperating with the United States at the time trying to arrange reintegration with the new government. He was instead arrested and sent to Guantanamo. Mohammad Nabi Omari was a minor Taliban official who was selling cars at the time the war broke out. He claims he was given $500 and a cell phone by a CIA agent and told to find Mullah Omar. When he did not he was arrested. All five men have been held at Guantanamo since the early days of the war around 2001 or 2002. It seems from this information they are not the worst of the worst.

Finally I would like to address one of the stupidest things I have read regarding the release of Sgt. Bergdahl. Allen West, a former congressman, claims that when Sgt. Bergdahl's father Bob Bergdahl spoke at the White House new conference in the Rose Garden he uttered the following phrase in Arabic. "Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim" The elder Bergdahl stated it was for his son and was a Arabic prayer. He was said because he claims his son was having trouble understanding English. Allen West claims it meant the elder Bergdahl had sanctified the White House and claimed it for Islam. First thing that comes to my mind is who cares what Bob Bergdahl says in the White House Rose Garden. He can't claim the White House for Islam or anyone else. Dogs mark their territory by peeing. If I go to Washington, DC and pee on the White House, the Capital Build, Lincoln Memorial and a bunch of other landmarks will Allen West acknowledge my claim on them for Jeff. I think not. His comment is simply stupid.

The facts in this case are varied and complicated. The problem is that our attention span is short and we are easily distracted. I mean gee look Kim and Kayne got married. That isn't news but it got broadcast time like it was. If you want to understand what is going on you have to dig a bit deeper. Our attention span is one problem the other problem is that we are too lazy to get the rest of the story. Tell me a short somewhat believable lie and most people are too distracted and lazy to determine what is true. It is the new face of America.