Patterico's Pontifications

6/2/2014

“At Best, A Deserter, And At Worst, A Traitor”

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:22 pm



[guest post by Dana]

In spite of signing a nondisclosure statement with the military, former Army sergeant Josh Korder, who served with Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan before Bergdahl reportedly walked away from his post, felt compelled to share his frustrations with CNN’s Jake Tapper, lest Bergdahl become a hero and the truth remain untold.

As Korder sees it, Bergdahl is being nationally celebrated and recognized, yet none of the six soldiers who died while searching for him received the same level of attention or recognition for their sacrifice.

“He pretty much voluntarily walked away and in turn caused the actions that may have killed them,” he said.

Korder believes that Bergdahl, after his health is restored, needs to face questioning about his actions.

“Any of us would have died for us when he was with us, and for him to just leave us like that — it was a very big betrayal,” he said.

It’s difficult to see how Korder benefits by speaking out, other than what he claims: If he doesn’t, Bergdahl will be a hero and no one’s going to be able to know the truth.

–Dana

77 Responses to ““At Best, A Deserter, And At Worst, A Traitor””

  1. Wow, this was not on Fox! So when did CNN become a H8ter?

    felipe (098e97)

  2. Do I really need to add the sarc tag?

    felipe (098e97)

  3. How does Korder benefit? By not keeping to himself a terrible truth, that people died looking for someone who apparently just walked away under his own power.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  4. Obama’s miscalculations on this deal are enormous. I think this will bring down his administration.

    Lasue (858a5f)

  5. I read where people said nothing while he was in captivity in case anything they said would make it more difficult for him,
    but now that he has been freed, there is no reason to conceal the truth.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  6. Could someone here who has experience in the military tell us how prevalent this type of “non disclosure agreement” is and under what circumstances they are used in war? What I’m getting at is this indicative that the brass knew or suspected this was hinky from the get go or is this fairly standard procedure.

    Also author Brad Thor who clearly has connections has a really interesting and informed piece at The Blaze.

    http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/negotiating-with-terrorists-inside-the-capture-and-release-of-sgt-bowe-bergdahl/

    elissa (fa1249)

  7. 4.Obama’s miscalculations on this deal are enormous

    I have not much of an idea what you are talking about beyond diverting attention from the plethora of scandals in the queue. Is there more? I am not being snarky, I’m just ill informed.

    felipe (098e97)

  8. “The bad news is that President Obama has now placed a target on the back of every single American – civilian and military alike”.

    Eesh, that brings it home. Thanks, big “O”.

    felipe (098e97)

  9. Sammy is going to have a field day with that article. you heard it here, first.

    felipe (098e97)

  10. Though Korder had signed a nondisclosure agreement with the military, which is uncommon for those not in special operations, and could therefore potentially be punished for talking, Korder said he felt compelled to speak out.

    will it be up to our deeply corrupt and laceratingly fascist attorney general at the “justice” department to decide whether or not to prosecute young Mr. Josh?

    What kind of precedent is set if the whores at “justice” let this slide?

    I’m assuming these NDAs are as ironclad as the ones Team Hillary made the Benghazi crew sign.

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  11. 9. heh. felipe, sometimes you just have to take a walk on the wild side despite the potential risks

    elissa (fa1249)

  12. This is a clever and manipulative political move by Obama that is meant to sucker Republicans into coming out and criticizing it. The media naturally will be pushing a narrative of “what is wrong with supporting the troops.” And the back story on this Bergdahl is too inside baseball so we are left with those mean and nasty Republicans again.

    And he got the worst terrorists out of Guantanamo Bay. I bet more to come.

    AZ Bob (533fbc)

  13. I think you may be misreading this one, AZ Bob.

    elissa (fa1249)

  14. Well, if anything, the president got the VA scandal off the front pages…

    Dana (8de1c4)

  15. Sure, VA is off the table but his is much, much worse. Michael Hastings quoted a WH guy who said in 2012 it could be a big win for them to get him back “if handled properly.” SMH. This is he biggest clusterfark of O’s whole term.

    “If handled properly.” Still waiting for them to handle anything honorably or comptently.

    And the Dad…Afghan Bob…it gets worse if this is true!!

    http://weaselzippers.us/188139-bob-bergdahl-tweets-story-from-taliban-bragging-about-murder-of-u-s-troops-in-attack-on-u-s-base/

    Patricia (be0117)

  16. Dana, do you think it is possible that this unlawful and egregious trip- up by the WH that is being reported suprisingly honestly in the media may actually prompt them to look more closely at the VA scandal, too?

    elissa (fa1249)

  17. 6. Could someone here who has experience in the military tell us how prevalent this type of “non disclosure agreement” is and under what circumstances they are used in war? What I’m getting at is this indicative that the brass knew or suspected this was hinky from the get go or is this fairly standard procedure.

    elissa (fa1249) — 6/2/2014 @ 8:42 pm

    I’ve never heard of his. And I had a TS/SCI clearance.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  18. food stamp and his little dog chuck hagel have been a disaster for national security

    And real live people are gonna die because of how stupid these two losers are.

    It’s so weird that it was just a few days ago we were treated to food stamp yammering about how “building international support and legitimacy for our actions” is so essential.

    But food stamp and chucky cheesy don’t even have the first clue how to build domestic support and legitimacy for their actions.

    Largely cause those actions are illegal and undermine American national security.

    But still.

    They’re not even trying.

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  19. Thanks Steve57. So sounds like this has been weird from the very beginning.

    elissa (fa1249)

  20. Not if the WH can help it, Elissa. The media has had plenty of scandals to choose from to look more closely at and not give cover for…What is different about this one? Yes, a few Dems have spoken about their concerns re the release and the law being broken…even Jeffrey Toobin thinks it has, but I think they’re circling the wagons now. This one just might be a bit more difficult to spin and sell.

    Sure hope I’m wrong.

    Dana (8de1c4)

  21. NDA letters are usually signed by soldiers who have security clearance or are working on sensitive missions.

    The standard form is called SF312 and is known as a Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement and it prevents those who sign it from speaking about a specific event because it is in the interest of national security for them not to do so.*

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  22. I am looking forward to the Rasmussen and other presidential polling for this period. I predict it will not be pretty.

    elissa (fa1249)

  23. elissa, I have and continue to put my faith in the troops. You can’t shut them up. The truth will out. Thank God.

    No matter if you’re talking Benghazi or Bergdahl.

    I have tried throughout my career to be worthy of them.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  24. Steve (or anybody else) here’s another military question. What do you make of the fact that Bergdahl was promoted while in “captivity”, and was scheduled for another promotion (to staff sergeant) in June.

    elissa (fa1249)

  25. I now have to say that a truly disgusting, vile person occupies the White House. I knew he was bad, and although I’ve never cared for his politics, I didn’t necessarily suspect there was something malevolent about him. I think otherwise today.

    Dailycaller.com, June 1: Obama used a Rose Garden press event to tout the surprise trade — which he won by making critical, last-minute concessions — while the parents of the freed soldier, Bowe Bergdahl, stood alongside. At the end of the brief event, the soldier’s father, Bob Bergdahl, recited the most frequent phrase in the Koran — “Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim” —which means “In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Compassionate.”

    After Bergdahl finished his statement and his praise for Allah, Obama hugged him.

    The Taliban echoed Bergdahl, saying the trade happened “due to the benevolence of Allah Almighty and the sacrifices of the heroic and courageous Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate.”

    Mark (99b8fd)

  26. Before long they might prefer the VA scandal again;

    http://twitchy.com/2014/06/02/politicos-blake-hounshell-are-these-five-taliban-guys-ninjas/

    you can’t fix stupid, specially when they are trying for full Vox,

    narciso (3fec35)

  27. The Old Gray Fishwrap has an article that might explain a little.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/us/us-soldier-srgt-bowe-bergdahl-of-idaho-pow-vanished-angered-his-unit.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_ r=0

    He did leave a note. The search for him seems to have been an ongoing priority for months which might explain the NDAs. The search and other classified missions may have been inseparable. That he was the cause of six deaths seems kind of complicated reasoning. Nobody stepped on a mine or walked into an ambush looking for him — more like along the lines that positions that the Taliban attacked were weakened by soldiers out looking for Bergdahl instead of being there to defend them.

    nk (dbc370)

  28. Mr. feets, I’m familiar with the form. I signed many of them. Like when I was read into a compartment.

    I have never seen it used in this way.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  29. elissa @24, honestly not much.

    Automatically promoting people in captivity seems to be the standard. Most deserve it. You can always take it back later.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  30. Re: #12… I agree that’s what Obama thinks will happen, AZ Bob, but once again he’ too clever by half. They’re running out of Julia Spokespersons to be laughed off the podium with their bullshit stories and explanations, too

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  31. Mr. 57 i wonder exactly when they made these guys sign the form

    Joe Taliban deserted in June and I guess they spent July looking for him

    Fort Hood happened four months later in November

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  32. Did anyone see the VA laying around here somewhere? I lost it. I think I might have left it beside Benghazi, except the IRS thing may have hidden it behind the Stimulus and Recovery Summer. Oh, wait, I remember, it’s next to Cars for Cash. Nope, not there.

    Ah, I remember, Obamacare. I don’t know how I could of forgotten about it since it is huge, gray and has a trunk.

    Ag80 (eb6ffa)

  33. Mr. happyfeet, if I were sending out infantry to follow up on a drone strike I’d have them all sign NDAs because even if it was not a wedding that was hit by the Hellfire missiles I’d still not want them talking about the dead women and children collateral damage. This is an insurgency/counter-insurgency war, the dirtiest kind.

    nk (dbc370)

  34. then why not just have them sign a blanket NDA covering their term of service?

    I really don’t quite get how the military never heard of the streisand effect.

    But you know

    Honestly

    Nobody really took the whole Afghanistan thing seriously after January 2009. I can see how they probably started thinking of the whole operation as a kind of public relations exercise.

    happyfeet (8ce051)

  35. The first casualty of war is the truth. Some lying liar of a politician said that I bet.

    nk (dbc370)

  36. If you told the military “Streissand effect”, they’d have visions of immensely successful music and acting careers with tons of money and making out with Omar Shariff and Robert Redford.

    nk (dbc370)

  37. It is terrible when our government has to create a new scandal to take the attention away from a prior scandal. And 535 of Americans voted for this, many of them twice.

    Jim (145e10)

  38. It is terrible when our government has to create a new scandal to take the attention away from a prior scandal. And 53% (corrected) of Americans voted for this, many of them twice.

    Jim (145e10)

  39. 535 53% of Americans

    there you go, pal. I also mix the cap key, as well.

    felipe (098e97)

  40. And I am a slow typer. Hee Hee!

    felipe (098e97)

  41. Lasue wrote:

    I think this will bring down his administration.

    You’re joking, right? Barack Hussein Obama could shoot Ted Cruz in the head, on national television, and the Democrats would not just continue to support him, but his approval ratings among Democrats would increase.

    The sadly realistic Dana (3e4784)

  42. You silly Republicans and your phony scandals. You’re only uncomfortable with Barack Obam shooting Ted Cruz because you can’t handle the idea of a strong black man dealing death to your white hispanic.

    Dana, you’re embarrassing yourself.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  43. nk (dbc370) — 6/2/2014 @ 9:53 pm

    So he did leave a note.
    Well, I would like to say I’ve seen just about everything now, but I imagine by this afternoon I would have to repeat myself.

    Perhaps it would have been more reasonable to trade 5 Taliban for the wife and 2 children of a US citizen sitting in a cell in Sudan for the crime of being a Christian.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  44. #43, Dana, Barack Obama could shoot Mother Teresa in the head on the White House lawn and Democrats would not only blame Bush, they’d send Susan Rice out to denounce Mother Teresa as a racist bigot who was slandering the Prophet and got what was coming to her.

    ropelight (334856)

  45. It’s a hell of a decision to say “He’s not worth it” about one of your own soldiers held prisoner by the enemy. I don’t think Obama will be, or should be, faulted very much for not making it, and I don’t like Obama. I don’t think this will go very far, and in the meantime it’s a distraction form realer scandals.

    I will add, that if the five Taliban were returned in fit condition to fight again, then our “enhanced interrogators” at Gitmo are not doing their jobs right. (What’s the other euphemism AG AG used?)

    Here’s some historical perspective of what happened when the North did not want to return Confederate soldiers to resume the fighting (the South suffered from manpower shortage), and the South followed a policy of rendering Union prisoners unfit for combat should they be exchanged or released. Andersonville

    nk (dbc370)

  46. No, you have to get him back, nk. If only because he deserves his day in court. I don’t fault Obama for that.

    Not getting him back is the same thing as convicting him without a trial.

    Still, I find the deal Obama cut more than a little extravagant. I would be ashamed if a Preezy had to trade five Taliban for me. But then, I don’t intend to go on walkabout in the Sandbox.

    Steve57 who intends not to be taken alive (61329d)

  47. Our president demonstrates yet again his countercompetence.

    Breaks the law by trading nasty terrorist prisoners for a soldier who deserted.

    Dan S (00fc90)

  48. small town Idaho
    is a Taliban stronghold?
    spudboyz gone crazy

    Colonel Haiku (db4096)

  49. A soldier who has not yet been convicted of anything, Dan.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  50. Barack Hussein Obama could shoot Ted Cruz in the head, on national television, and the Democrats would not just continue to support him, but his approval ratings among Democrats would increase.

    And they’d all continue to see themselves as such tolerant, humane, compassionate, generous, wonderful, beautiful, open-minded, non-bigoted, non-racist, non-homophobic, non-sexist, humane, compassionate, caring, generous (and did I say compassionate?) human beings.

    And far too many “centrists” would find themselves falling for that notion too.

    Mark (99b8fd)

  51. Sometimes Mark I think you’re way off base.

    This isn’t one of those times.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  52. I don’t think Obama will be, or should be, faulted very much for not making it, and I don’t like Obama.

    I don’t know if you and Steve57 are giving both sides of the deal more benefit of the doubt than they deserve, mainly because, well, Bergdahl at least made an effort to serve his country, and, uh-huh, isn’t that patriotic and dutiful. But that’s being way more generous than I am towards both the Islam-rationalizing (if not embracing) enlistee and the Islam-rationalizing (if not embracing—and weirdly ironic too since Islamism is so reactionary) guy in the Oval Office.

    Mark (99b8fd)

  53. nk- I have never considered that our treatment of detainees at Gitmo should be such as to render them incapable of continuing the fight, unless it was because of decent treatment from Christians that lead them to converting to faith in Jesus.
    I thought enhanced interrogation was for the purpose of getting information that would prevent other attacks, etc., not “brainwashing” captives or physically maiming them.

    “He’s not worth it” depends on what “it” is. Is freeing one soldier worth the lives of 1 other, 6 others, 100 others, 500 others?
    Yes, it is a good thing to not leave an American in the hands of the Taliban, that a couple of parents got their son back. But how many parents are you going to ask to lose their sons instead?

    I’m not saying he should have been abandoned and never thought about, but he failed in his responsibility to his fellow shoulders. To some degree the commitment to “leave nobody behind” is a shared commitment, one he failed to live up to himself.
    You are right, maybe this is a small scandal compared to others, but who knows what may finally gain some traction with the public and cause them to at least give Congress to the repubs in 2014.

    But, if enough of the public demands the right to sacrifice their children above all else, then we don’t deserve better.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  54. Sometimes Mark I think you’re way off base.

    Steve57, that’s one of the reasons why when a person walks into his or her local election precinct and pulls the lever or plucks a chad, I don’t take anything for granted.

    That’s why as despicable as Obama is, I’d never assume there aren’t enough Americans out there who would — should he dispense with the 22nd Amendment — give him a third term.

    Mark (99b8fd)

  55. So, what should he do to say that the wife of a US citizen and 2 children who are US citizens are worth getting out of a Sudanese prison?
    But it means they have to bring attention to the practice of killing people for deciding to be Christian instead of Muslim, and that would offend Muslims.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  56. Even if there are not enough people to give him a third term,
    I’m not sure there are enough people to oppose him doing it whether they give it to him or not.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  57. I’m not sure there are enough people to oppose him doing it whether they give it to him or not.

    The very fact it’s easy to be that cynical in this day and age means this society either is already lost or merely one step away from being lost.

    The reaction of “this is a small scandal” is, again — when it comes to guessing people’s reactions and opinions — why I never take anything for granted. That unpredictability makes me think of the case of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, where people who were fairly down-to-earth in general nonetheless shed tears for the former, spat contemptuously at the latter.

    Mark (99b8fd)

  58. Heaven forbid we offend Muslims, doc, by observing the fact that they are Muslims. Everything Boko Haram has done in Nigeria is fully in accordance with their texts.

    Mark, all I can say is at least once per cruise somebody goes over the side. And we stop everything and look for the guy. A lot of times the guy isn’t a stellar performer. Maybe he’s a dirt bag. But we look. Who knows? Maybe the guy was tossed overboard by his “shipmates” because he couldn’t pay his gambling debts (there’s a reason the Navy doesn’t allow that). Or something.

    Get him back. Dry him off. Send him to medical. Give him something to eat. Then fry him.

    My position on Bergdahl.

    As far as trading 5 Taliban commanders for him, I wouldn’t even recommend that if it were me. WTFO?

    Steve57 (61329d)

  59. MD, the “enhanced interrogation” at Gitmo was designed by, or with the help of, psychologists to induce a condition called “learned helplessness”. In the classic experiment, you put a dog in an enclosure with an electrified floor and you give him a shock. He jumps to another part of the enclosure. There’s an electrified plate there, too, and you shock him there. He jumps back to the first place, shock, then to the second, shock, and so on and so forth. At some point, he stomps jumping. He just cowers, whimpers, and takes the shocks. I understand it took 180 or so waterboardings to get Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to that point. Is it “brainwashing”? Is it reversible?

    nk (dbc370)

  60. Yes, it’s not nice, but neither was the drowning of the sailors on the Cole, or the burning bodies on
    the 106th floor of the North Tower, what would have been a similar fate on Capitol if detainee 063,
    had his way, a little perspective which never seems to enter this violin string pleas for these bastards.

    narciso (3fec35)

  61. Judging by the reverence US personnel have to display toward the Koran, nk, the book that embodies the ideology that got people like Khalid Sheikh Mohammad locked up in GITMO in the first place, I’d say it’s not the inmates who have learned helplessness.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  62. I am a filthy Kuffar who must handle your holy book with gloves, which tells you to kill me without mercy. Which is why you’re in GITMO.

    Steve57 (61329d)

  63. I can imagine that the entire dissatisfaction and desertion thing was all a grand scheme to plant him into the Taliban as a spy and this was a public extraction of him from their control.

    I do NOT believe that is what happened.

    Yes, those detained by the enemy are promoted on schedule. The world is awash in NDA’s, most of which seem to be designed to cover some higher up’s excretory orifice, rather than keeping either national or company secrets. If the troops serving with him had not been so asked*, I suspect their memories of his desertion would not be so sharp.

    *I suspect the asking was actually an order.

    htom (412a17)

  64. htom, I suspect their memory was sharper because they weren’t asked. As in, “Why the f*** didn’t somebody ask me?”

    Steve57 (61329d)

  65. #45, nk, during the War Against Southern Independence the brief period of prisoner exchanges lasted from July of 1862 till General Grant ended them when he became overall commander of Union forces in March of ’64. (Prior to 6/62 since the Union refused to recognize the Confederacy it also refused to negotiate exchanges.)

    During the 22 month exchange period treatment of POW’s remained reasonably good as each side expected the other to deliver it’s soldiers in the same condition it received it’s own returning men. However, in 1863 Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s Secretary of War, began pressuring designated Union exchange representatives to curtail the frequency of prisoner exchanges and to reduce the number of soldiers involved, all of which ended immediately on Grant’s arrival.

    Lincoln, Stanton, and Grant knew the more populous North could win a War of Attrition and they cynically adopted a range of policies which sacrificed the well-being of their own captured men while replacing them in the ranks with drafted immigrants fresh off the boats as they landed in New York and Boston.

    The Union’s specific refusal to permit exchanges after 4/64 had the immediate effect of magnifying the suffering of POWs on both sides and was at least partly responsible for the massive overcrowding and subsequent disasters at Union camps like Camp Morton in Indianapolis, and at the Confederate camp at Andersonville.

    Quickly constructed camps, many of which had been originally built as local militia training bases, had been used as temporary holding facilities for prisoners awaiting exchange, but Grant’s decision to end POW swaps meant those facilities were now flooded with many sick and injured soldiers held in close proximity to the able bodied, all of which had little or no hope of release till war’s end. Extreme overcrowding and lack of adequate food, shelter, warm clothing and medical care (temperatures at Camp Morton in February could drop to 20 below and snow storms could last till mid-April) resulted in a bitch’s brew of infectious contagion and consequent disease and early death.

    Toward the end of the War the Union’s blockade of Southern ports and Scorched Earth policies like Sheridan’s Burning of the Shenandoah Valley and Sherman’s destruction of Atlanta combined with his devastating March to the Sea and the ongoing dismantling of the railroads and river transportation systems had all but reduced most of the South to abject deprivation and outright starvation.

    Consequently, the Confederacy was so overly burdened with Union POWs they were unable to feed and guard that many thousands of federal prisoners were simply set free and sent North just to avoid having to care for them. Yet, overall Union POWs fared far better than their Confederate counterparts, about 13% of all Confederate POWs died in Union camps compared to only about 8 per cent of federals.

    ropelight (334856)

  66. Our Windy City barrister wrote:

    I will add, that if the five Taliban were returned in fit condition to fight again, then our “enhanced interrogators” at Gitmo are not doing their jobs right.

    In Biblical times, the captured soldiers had their thumbs and big toes cut off, which would allow them to work, but not to serve as soldiers. I’m guessing that we wouldn’t do that today.

    I’m hoping, hoping! that we have some sort of implantable GPS locator chip, that the Taliban don’t know about, which was somehow implanted in their bones, and which is capable of being tracked by a drone, or a Tomahawk cruise missile. If that’s the case, and if the Commander-in-Chief had the balls to order such done — another improbability — the release could turn out to be a very good thing.

    The Dana who doesn't have a lot of hope for this (3e4784)

  67. from the link @6. I reached out to intelligence contacts who have operated in the Af/Pak region and are familiar with the situation

    This looks like very badly formulated disinformation. I’s very different from other stories.

    The Rolling Stone article says this was a military unit that bungled almost everything, and was undermanned. On June 25, a soldier in a different company in he same battalion was killed by a roadside bomb. It says they found out he was missing at 9 am, when the acting platoon leader, Sgt. 1st Class Larry Hein, called in over the radio to report a missing soldier.

    Sammy Finkelman (8423d6)

  68. In Rolling Stone there is an account of what supposedly transpired right after

    http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-prisoner-of-war-0120607page=5#ixzz33beMTPPv

    Am I to understand from this that his captors communicated in English? I mean they are quoting the term LOL! ) And we have voice and “LOL” on the same intercept!

    That’s disinformation, too, therefore.

    This seems to back up the “captured in a latrine” story the Taliban later told. Here is some:

    By 11:37 a.m., a Predator drone was on station, monitoring the area with a call sign of VOODOO. At 2:10 p.m., a Pathfinder and a team of tracking dogs arrived at the small outpost. Five minutes later, another Predator drone began circling the area. At 2:42, Guardrail – an electronic intercept plane run by the same clandestine Army agency that killed Pablo Escobar – captured low-level voice intercepts picked up from radio or cellphone traffic. An American soldier with a camera was reportedly looking for someone who spoke English.

    Who placed that intercepted cellphone call, and to whom? Of course, he’d need to find somebody who spoke English.

    The search quickly escalated. No one knew whether Bowe was a deserter,­ a prisoner or a casualty. At that point he was simply listed as DUSTWUN – short for “Duty Status: Whereabouts Unknown.” But either way, the Army wanted him back, fast.

    At 4:42 that afternoon, Col. Michael Howard, the senior officer responsible for three eastern provinces in Afghanistan, ordered that “all operations will cease until the missing soldier is found. All assets will be focused on the DUSTWUN situation and sustainment operations.”

    Within an hour, two F-18s were circling overhead. Afghan forces passed along intelligence that a U.S. soldier had been captured by the Taliban. By that evening, two F-15s – call sign DUDE-21 – had joined the search.

    A few minutes later, according­ to files obtained by WikiLeaks, a radio transmission intercepted by U.S. forces stated that the Taliban had captured­ three civilians and one U.S. soldier. The battalion leading the manhunt entered and searched three compounds in the area, but found nothing significant to report.

    The next morning, more than 24 hours after Bowe had vanished, U.S. intelligence intercepted a conversation between two Taliban fighters:

    In English?? At the minimum, if true, They are Pakistani.

    And if this is a translation, where does the LOL come from? That is only written, not spoken, making this a text message, and it’s English. Did all this come from Wikileaks? Wikileaks of course, only had U.S. government files that Bardley Manning has access to. Was the ISI responsible for these “intercepts?”, and if so, when did they turn them over to the United States? “I SWEAR THAT I HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING YET. WHAT HAPPENED. IS THAT TRUE THAT THEY CAPTURED AN AMERICAN GUY?”

    “YES THEY DID. HE IS ALIVE. THERE IS NO WHERE HE CAN GO (LOL)” “IS HE STILL ALIVE?”

    “YES HE IS ALIVE. BUT I DONT HAVE THE WHOLE STORY. DONT KNOW IF THEY WERE FIGHTING. ALL I KNOW IF THEY WERE FIGHTING. ALL I KNOW THAT THEY CAPTURE HIM ALIVE AND THEY ARE WITH HIM RIGHT NOW.”

    Then another intercept was picked up:

    “CUT THE HEAD OFF” Well, A Pakistani’s English would be a little bit ungrammatical.

    Later that evening, a final intercept confirmed that Bowe had been captured by the Taliban, who were preparing an ambush for the search party.

    “WE ARE WAITING FOR THEM.”

    “LOL THEY KNOW WHERE HE IS BUT THEY KEEP GOING TO WRONG AREA.”

    “OK SET UP THE WORK FOR THEM.”

    “YES WE HAVE A LOT OF IED ON THE ROAD.”

    “GOD WILLING WE WILL DO IT.”

    “WE WERE ATTACKING THE POST HE WAS SITTING TAKING EXPLETIVE HE HAD NO GUN WITH HIM. HE WAS TAKING EXPLETIVE, HE HAS NOT CLEANED HIS BUTT YET.” “WHAT SHAME FOR THEM.”

    “YES LOOK THEY HAVE ALL AMERICANS, ANA HELICOPTERS THE PLANES ARE LOOKING FOR HIM.”

    “I THINK HE IS BIG SHOT THAT WHY THEY ARE LOOKING FOR HIM.”

    A third voice chimed in:

    “CAN YOU GUYS MAKE A VIDEO OF HIM AND ANNOUNCE IT ALL OVER AFGHANISTAN THAT WE HAVE ONE OF THE AMERICANS.”

    “WE ALREADY HAVE A VIDEO OF HIM.”

    OK. This is disinformation. How do have both a voice and “LOL?”

    More from Rolling Stone:

    The next day, American forces had a chance to free Bowe. The battalion operations officer, call sign GERONIMO 3, met with two tribal elders from the nearby village. The elders had been asked by the Taliban to arrange a trade with U.S. forces. The insurgents wanted 15 of their jailed fighters released, along with an unidentified sum of money, in exchange for Bowe. The officer hedged, unwilling or unable to make such a bargain, and no deal was struck. Instead, the Army ordered all units stationed in the eastern half of Afghanistan – known as RC East, in military jargon – to join the search for Bowe.

    On July 4th, the search effort got a break: Bowe was spotted in a village in Ghazni, about 15 miles across the mountains to the west. He was wearing khaki, with a bag covering his head, and he was being driven in a black Toyota Corolla, escorted by three to five motorcycles. But by the time troops arrived to investigate, it was too late. That was the last time that Bowe would be seen until the first propaganda video, released later that month.

    Sammy Finkelman (8423d6)

  69. The New York Times has:

    The soldiers began a frantic search for Sergeant Bergdahl using Predator drones, Apache attack helicopters and military tracking dogs. The most intense search operation, leaked war reports show, wound down after eight days — well before the deaths of six soldiers on patrols in Paktika Province in late August and early September. But, complicating matters, some soldiers contend they were effectively searching for 90 days because of clear orders: If they heard rumors from locals that Sergeant Bergdahl might be nearby, they should patrol the area.

    Mr. Full, then a specialist in the platoon, said he and other platoon members grew increasingly bitter at the time they were spending looking for Sergeant Bergdahl. “He had sent all his belongings home — his computer, personal items,” said Mr. Full, now 25. He said Sergeant Bergdahl used to gaze at the mountains around them and say he wondered if he could get to China from there. Other platoon members said that Sergeant Bergdahl wrote Jason Bourne-type novels in which he inserted himself as the lead character.

    The anger toward Sergeant Bergdahl increased exponentially after Sept. 4, when they learned that two members of Third Platoon, which routinely went on tandem missions with Second Platoon and who they believed were also searching for Sergeant Bergdahl, had been killed in an ambush. Pfc. Matthew Martinek and Lt. Darryn Andrews, both of them friends of Mr. Cornelison, died in the ambush. A Defense Department official said it was unclear whether the two men were killed directly because of the search for Sergeant Bergdahl.

    Some soldiers have also contended that the Taliban, knowing the units were out searching extensively for Sergeant Bergdahl, chose July 4, 2009, to attack another combat outpost, which was nearly overrun and several soldiers were killed. But American military officers said they saw no evidence that the Taliban started the attack on the outpost because they thought everyone would be out searching for Sergeant Bergdahl.

    How far away was pot where soldiers were killed on July 4? (the Daily News did not include any of thse dead among the six)

    The New York Times also mentions that Bergdahl had earlier ordered Rosetta Stone for Dari and Arabic and Pashto.

    Sammy Finkelman (8423d6)

  70. 59. nk (dbc370) — 6/3/2014 @ 7:39 am

    MD, the “enhanced interrogation” at Gitmo was designed by,

    There was no “enhanced interrogation” at Gitmo. You are swallowing the propaganda. All he “enhanced interrogation” was at mostly secret prisons abroad, one of them maybe in Poland. They were only brough to Guantanamo when interrogation was over.

    Sammy Finkelman (8423d6)

  71. My propaganda comes, in part, from the floor of the U.S. Senate (speech by Dick Durbin) based on an affidavit from an FBI agent. Where is your information from? And, yes, I am aware of “extraordinary rendition” to other countries as well. Poland, Romania and … wait for it … Syria.

    nk (dbc370)

  72. Egypt, too, if I don’t misremember.

    nk (dbc370)

  73. Sammy, you should be President, because you find out about all this stuff in the newspaper.
    Or something.

    Elephant Stone (6a6f37)

  74. nk (dbc370) — 6/3/2014 @ 7:39 am

    Learned helplessness can be unlearned, at least if the person was not subjected to it from birth.
    Aspects of clinical depression are often thought of as learned helplessness.
    Helplessness from infancy as in welfare underclass is harder to overcome, would be my guess.

    we had a cat once that became a pathetic “catatonic learned helplessness cat” when forced to live in another person’s basement with their own cat terrorizing it under the door. You could slap it in the head and it would do nothing, had lost weight, liked itself raw, terrible. After a few weeks “back home” it began to come around and got back to normal.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  75. They support Obama’s lawlessness as long as things work out well. Now that everyone thinks Obama screwed up, they turn on him.

    So yes I’m disgusted with CNN and all of the others who do the same, which includes a big chunk of the American public. They don’t support the rule of law. They support the trains running on time.

    But hey, for now maybe we can cooperate.

    Amphipolis (d3e04f)

  76. Yes, it came from Ali Soufan, who thought the confy chair would be all you would need to get the likes of Quahtani to talk, not knowing or apparently caring that he comes from one of the most ruthless of tribes in Arabia, which has provided hundreds of jihadist fighter, his partner Gaudin,
    had few qualms about the interrogation, because as a former ranger he had been through SERE.

    narciso (3fec35)

  77. Woah that website can be wonderful i love examining your posts. Continue to be within the fantastic works of art! You currently know, many are looking about for this information and facts, you could assist them to enormously.

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