Bowe Bergdahl , was “ashamed to be American,” emails show

[R Glass]

This article from CBS News is a couple of years old (June 8, 2012). I don't know what to think about it yet but, we just may have some interesting days coming.


(AP) WASHINGTON - Emails an American soldier reportedly sent to his parents before he was captured by the Taliban three years ago suggest he was disillusioned and considering deserting.

Bowe Bergdahl told his parents he was "ashamed to even be American" and was disgusted with the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and with the Army, according to emails quoted in Rolling Stone magazine.

Bergdahl, a 26-year-old Army sergeant from Hailey, Idaho, was taken prisoner on June 30, 2009, in Afghanistan.
The military has never detailed circumstances of his disappearance or capture, and he is not classified as a deserter. He was initially listed as "duty status unknown" and is now considered "missing-captured." He is the only U.S. prisoner of war from the Afghanistan conflict, and U.S. offiThe White House declined comment on the emails or Bergdahl's possible motivation for leaving his base in eastern Afghanistan in 2009.
Bergdahl is the subject of a proposed prisoner swap in which he would be traded for five Taliban adherents imprisoned by the United States at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Taliban have walked away from the deal and larger negotiations with the United States, but the Obama administration is still pushing a negotiated settlement between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan.
The Rolling Stone article, to be published Friday, also quotes other soldiers and associates of Bergdahl's as saying that he had talked about walking to Pakistan if his deployment was "lame" and that shortly before his disappearance he had asked whether he should take his weapon if he left the base. Friends and other soldiers describe a survivalist mentality, and Bergdahl's father, Bob, told the magazine that his son was "living in a novel."
"The future is too good to waste on lies," one email reads. "And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong."
The emails were provided to the magazine by Bergdahl's family in Idaho, which has gone public with its own discontent with U.S. efforts to free their son. There is no way to authenticate the emails.
Some of Bergdahl's reported words read like a suicide note.
"I am sorry for everything," he wrote. "The horror that is America is disgusting."
He mailed home boxes containing his uniform and books.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bowe-bergdahl-us-soldier-held-by-taliban-was-ashamed-to-be-american-emails-show/

here is another interesting one that came out in March
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-sgt-bowe-bergdahl-a-hero-or-a-deserter/

[teko]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

[mikesimon]

Obama was a law professor who taught Constitutional Law courses at the University of Chicago Law School.

[Vance2335]

Our President is far from a constitutional scholar.

You clearly have no clue about history if you are going to make a connection to overthrow of the government and the tea party.

Teko did the talking points tell you about Bush.

Everyone defends Obama like he is King or God. Finding fault with him is like parting the red sea. No matter what he does it's ok with you, yet if this was Bush or McCain or Romney you would be screaming from the roof tops.

[desrt]

Our President *is* a constitutional scholar and you would have to be at least as well educated as him to even debate this point.
What I find rolling-on-the-ground hilarious is the tea partyers, whose very name implies breaking of all laws, civil disobedience, and overthrow of government, can suddenly become sticklers for the fine points of the law when it suits them

[teko]

Tell that to Bush who had almost 500 statement signings and did the same thing. If there was no constitutional amendment to the fact, it is at the presidents discretion. At the time of the signing, the president said at that time, he didnt think it was constitutional and depending on the circumstances, may not abide by it.

So. They can challenge it, but the constitution is on his side and listed under powers of the president over all things battlefield. My opinion, as I am not a constitutional lawyer, but the president is, and Im quite sure had lawyers advising him on it as well.

[Vance2335]

He can't sign something and then say he may not follow it. That is the power of a dictator not a PRESIDENT.

[teko]

I find it all disgusting really. Bloodlust. Modern day lynch mob.

The military is perfectly capable of handling one of their own, and I agree that the bottom line is we dont leave one of ours behind. Not matter what.

Vance, Obama signed a signing statement, saying at the time that he didnt think it was constitutional and depending on the situation that might arise, may not abide by it.

No ammendment was ever made to the constitution, Just to let ya know.

[desrt]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/04/1304308/-McCain-other-Republicans-called-for-Obama-to-get-Bergdahl-s-release-then-condemned-it?

"........Several Republicans also celebrated Bergdahl's release on Twitter, only to delete those tweets as the issue became politicized. Those stalwarts include Reps. Lee Terry and Mark Amodei and Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst. For Democrats, meanwhile, the bottom line continues to be this:

"We rescue our soldiers first and ask questions later. If action by justice system is needed, I prefer American justice over Taliban justice."

Senator Reid   "

[Vance2335]

Obama broke the own law that HE SIGNED, where Congress needed 30 days prior knowledge to do this.

What a junk article. So Dems are running from Obamacare because it is and has been a disaster, no questions have ever been answered about Benghazi and now the deserter. Obama admin is scandal after scandal and to try to paint it other wise is BS.

Checks and balances which Obama does not think he needs follow.

[desrt]

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/06/03/republican-bergdahl-scandal-falls-white-house-discussed-swap-gop-2011.html

"......John Boehner and House Republicans are calling for an investigation into something that they have known about for years, while a former Bush administration official is leading the media effort to build this partisan show into a full blown scandal. This behavior is straight out of the Republican scandal making playbook. They can’t run on Obamacare. Benghazi has been a bust, so they are turning their efforts towards portraying bringing a U.S. soldier home after five years of captivity as a bad thing.

This is another bogus scandal attempt that is going to blow up in the face of the Republican Party. Republicans could try to take President Obama to court for notifying them of the swap, but courts have ruled for decades that a president has broad powers as commander in chief.

By the GOP’s own definition, Bergdahl was a prisoner of war. President Obama had the constitutional authority as commander in chief to take the actions the action that he did.

Republicans are making it look to the American people like they oppose bringing an American soldier home. They are setting themselves up for another self-inflicted political disaster as their obsession with President Obama continues to destroy the Republican Party."

[Vance2335]

drudgereport.com

VIDEO: Bergdahl's release...
Qatar allowing released Taliban men to move freely in country...
Reintegration: Military hides Bergdahl from public view...
FLASHBACK: 'Converted to Islam And Taught Captors Bomb Making Skills'...
NYT: Left note explaining desertion before going AWOL...
REPORT: Wanted to Renounce Citizenship...
Team Leader: 'A lot more to story than soldier walking away'...
Death sentence 'in the realm of possibilities'...
Pentagon knew whereabouts but didn't risk rescue...
14 SOLDIERS WERE LOST Searching for Bergdahl...
Never Officially Listed as POW...
White House apologizes for 'oversight' in notification failure...
FATHER: 'I am still working to free all Guantanamo prisoners'...
MAG: White House Overrode Internal Objections To Terrorist Release...
'Suck it up and salute'...
DESPAIR: My Son Died 'Looking For A Traitor?'
Rubio: Obama 'Believes He's Become Monarch Or Emperor'...
LAW PROF: The President That Richard Nixon Always Wanted To Be...
Senate Dems desert...

[teko]

My husband has a chronic problem with kidney stones. They gave him a script for flomax to take at the first sign of symptoms, but thanks to the lemonade and cranberry capsules, he has not had an issue in about a year. Cranberry capsules I discovered when my dog got bladder stones. They keep the stones from adhering to the surrounding tissue, much like the olive oil Im guessing. lol

[Barb135]

"When the winds of media calm and the dust settles the truth will come to light."  Not if it's like some other things that have gone on over the past few years.

[R Glass]

The Urologist said it is about the size of a Green Pea and would have been almost impossible to pass on my own.

I’m calling in tomorrow to get my 2 month supply of xannaxs refilled. As soon as I have them in my hand, I am firing my GP (of 15 years) for making me suffer for so long. The first attack was on Mothers Day.

(Didn’t mean to turn the forum into a chat room.
Teko-My wife found a Recipe Half Cup of Lemmon Juice and Olive Oil. I had relief within 8 hours.
I’m not a big fan of “Put The Lime In The Coconut” but it made a Believer out of me).

[brice1967]

I passed a small one not but about 3 weeks ago.  I hope I never encounter another one.  My grandfather had them.... geez.....

[teko]

ouch..

******* attitude understood and forgiven! Those things are brutal. You need to buy some cranberry capsules and drink more citris like lemonaide

[R Glass]

  I apologize if I’m being an A-Hole. I’ve been dealing with a 6mm Kidney Stone for 3 weeks that has left me at times crying like a baby. I had it blasted yesterday.

[R Glass]

"They get on one topic and whatever else is going on, is on the backburner it seems."

I agree, kind of like blaming Congress for all of this  Administrations Downfalls and Short Comings.

[teko]

I dunno about that R, we will just have to wait and see what pans out. I understand he is in the debriefing process, so as soon as he is able will be expected to give an explanation of how and why he found himself in the situation. For now, all that is classified Im sure. My uneducated guess is that they saw a narrow window of opportunity and took it, but that is only a guess which doesnt help find facts. he definately needs to answer some questions. We will see.

Frankly, I would welcome a change in the conversation from the news channels. They get on one topic and whatever else is going on, is on the backburner it seems.

[R Glass]

  “ I posted an earlier link here that explains more about these talks back in 2012.”

I would like to know the conditions of his “Deteriorating Health” that could not have waited the 30 days to go before Congress.

This is like watching a Rat in a Maze but every time the Rat hits a Wall there is another excuse.

[orphanedhawk]

When I was traveling around the time of the Iraq war invasion, many American's were wearing Canadain Maple leaf pins. They were ashamed of what our country was doing.

I chose to be honest,telling people that I was indeed an American, one who was not happy with the decisions my government was making.
When I asked how they felt about their government, most people had complaints too.

I am not ashamed to be an American but I am disgusted with many of the choices our government has made, and that goes for both parties.

[brice1967]

I just ate the most flavorful orange that I've ever had.  I'd like to thank the nations organic citrus growers.  Well done, folks... well done.

Torture?  Yeah, I believe there was some level of torture involved.  Some say that incarceration alone is torture.  For hells sake, take a look at Bergdahl.  He is skinnier than an Ethiopian on a hunger strike.  There's some torture.  And of course Vance brought up Richard Pearl....  I was going to post a link to how he was treated, but because of the nature of what happened... I left it out.  

Anyhow, I think the 5 guys we let go got treated better than Mr. Pearl, to say the least.  

[Vance2335]

What torture?

[teko]

They are not on the terrorist list, is how I should have put it. The talks have been going on for a long while now, so none of this should have been a surprise, other than the timing of it. I posted an earlier link here that explains more about these talks back in 2012.

Keep in mind that these detainees have never gone to trial, cannot be tried because of the tainted evidence or lack of same. They will have to be released as a result. Since much was obtained thru torture, its inadmissable at best.

As far as judging the pow. Im not going there at this time. Regardless as one of us, he should have been brought home. The rest can be determined later.