TRS: Jake Tapper interviewed former Army Sgt. Josh Korder who served with Bergdahl and explained his frustration that Bergdahl is getting a hero’s welcome by the White House when those who died trying to find him barely got noticed.Related links: We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night
He does believe that Bergdahl needs to pay for his crimes and at the end of the interview tells Tapper that Bergdahl is “at best a deserter and at worst a traitor.”
Pentagon Official: Bergdahl Walked Away
Mark Levin: The Bergdahl exchange was NOT a POW exchange
And who were those five exchanged for this deserter? Extremely dangerous individuals who will immediately set their sights on killing more Americans. They should never have been released...
DailyBeast: According to a 2008 Pentagon dossier on Guantanamo Bay inmates, all five men released were considered to be a high risk to launch attacks against the United States and its allies if they were liberated. The exchange shows that the Obama administration was willing to pay a steep price, indeed, for Bergdahl’s freedom. The administration says they will be transferred to Qatar, which played a key role in the negotiations.The piece gives further details about their identity:
A senior U.S. defense official confirmed Saturday that the prisoners to be released include Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Mohammed Nabi Omari.
While not as well known as Guantanamo inmates like 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the Taliban 5 were some of the worst outlaws in the U.S. war on terror. And their release will end up replenishing the diminished leadership ranks of the Afghan Taliban at a moment when the United States is winding down the war there.
“They are undoubtedly among the most dangerous Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo,” said Thomas Joscelyn, a senior editor at the Long War Journal who keeps a close watch on developments concerning the detainees left at the Guantanamo Bay prison.
- Fazl was the Taliban’s former deputy defense minister, wanted by the UN for his role in massacres targeting Afghan’s Shi’ite Muslim population;
- Noori was a senior Taliban military figure and was asked personally in 1995 by Osama bin Laden to participate in an offensive against northern alliance warlord Rashid Dostum;
- Wasiq was a former deputy minister of intelligence and a crucial liaison between the Taliban and other Islamic fundamentalist groups;
- Khairkhwa was a former Taliban governor of Herat, a likely heroin trafficker, and likely participated in meetings with Iranian officials after 9-11 to help plot attacks on U.S. forces following the invasion; and
- Omari held several military leadership posts for the Taliban and helped organize the al Qaeda/Taliban militias that fought against U.S. and coalition troops in the first year of the war.
After the culmination of Bowe Bergdahl's declaration to his parents, telling them "I am ashamed to be an American," his dad's disturbing comments and muslim sympathies, and new revelations from soldiers who've broken their silence about Bergdahl's desertion, one has to ask, what was this President thinking acting unilaterally to release five terrorist leaders for one American traitor? That's his idea of a fair deal? Of leaving no man behind?
Great job, Mr. President. Sheesh...So in the end, Bergdahl was traded for 5 high risk Taliban terrorists who are likely to return to the battlefield and kill more Americans. And it appears what we got in return is an AWOL traitor who belongs in Afghanistan.
Related links: Just like Benghazi, Susan Rice spews Obama Bergdahl propaganda on Sunday talk shows
[VIDEO] – Jay Carney doges EVERY question about Bergdahl trade on CNN
Reporter to State Dept: Was Bergdahl a deserter?
[VIDEO] Jay Carney says WH will consult with Congress, obey federal law before transfer of GITMO detainees – TWICE!
How Obama Convinced His Spies to Support the Taliban Prisoner Release
UPDATE I: A few more details have come to the forefront. After Bergdahl's desertion, attacks on special forces ramped up, while more of our young men were killed in the process of looking for Bergdahl. We know the identity of at least 8 of them...(from top row to bottom: Army Pfc. Aaron E. Fairbairn, Army Pfc. Justin Casillas, Army Pfc. Morris L. Walker, Army Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen, Army Staff Sgt. Kurt R. Curtiss, Army 2nd Lt. Darryn D. Andrews, Army Pfc. Matthew Martinek, and Army Staff Sgt. Michael C. Murphrey)
And Monday night, Col. David Hunt divulged that as many as 14 men lost their lives trying to find this deserter!
Time to stop treating this guy with a hero's welcome, and time to hold Obama responsible for such an irresponsibly, unilateral decision.
UPDATE II: More evidence points towards this deserter turning traitor...
TRS: Former Army Sgt. Evan Buetow, Bowe Bergdahl’s Team Leader, spoke with Jake Tapper today to explain exactly what happened with Bergdahl’s disappearance. The highlight of the interview is below where he explains how they knew Bergdahl was trying to speak to the Taliban after he disappeared. In short, they heard it via communications chatter that Bergdahl was seeking out someone who spoke English so he could talk to the Taliban.UPDATE III: Bergdahl’s former squad leader says 'He totally deserted us.'
TRS: Former U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Gerleve who was Bergdahl’s squad leader has come forward just as the others have and confirms that Bergdahl was indeed a deserter. He also confirms that the attacks from the Taliban got more accurate in the days after Bergdahl’s desertion. Like the rest, he believes Bergdahl needs to pay for his crimes and absolutely does not deserve a hero’s welcome.Related link: WAPO: Afghans remember the day Bergdahl deserted, tried to warn him
As a side note, Bergdahl’s hometown in Iowa has now cancelled the celebration they had planned.
