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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBowe Bergdahl's platoon didn't like him. That doesn't mean he's a traitor.
You don't know as much about Bergdahl's captivity as you probably thinkBy Peter Weber | 9:52am ET
Among all the unanswered questions about the disappearance, long captivity, and subsequent prisoner trade for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, it seems safe to conclude that Bergdahl wasn't very popular in his platoon. The first clue is that several of the men who served with him or near him are calling him a deserter and worse, blaming him for the deaths of between two and eight soldiers.
Then there's this report from The New York Times, which spoke to platoon members who described Bergdahl as "bookish and filled with romantic notions that some found odd.... Other platoon members said that Sergeant Bergdahl wrote Jason Bournetype novels in which he inserted himself as the lead character." Cody Full, one of several members of Bergdahl's platoon who gave interviews "arranged by Republican strategists," The Times notes, complained that "he wouldn't drink beer or eat barbecue and hang out with the other 20-year-olds."
But unlike desertion (punishable by death), unpopularity isn't a crime. And while the idea that Bergdahl was a deserter whose kidnapping directly led to the deaths of half a dozen troops is becoming a fixed media narrative, it isn't necessarily true.
Two soldiers died in an ambush on the Zerok combat outpost on July 4, 2009 the only deaths during the intense search period, which ended July 8 and six others died between Aug. 18 and Sept. 5, reports The New York Times, which tried to verify the deaths through military logs and casualty reports. The verdict: Critics are blaming Bergdahl for "every American combat death in Paktika Province in the months after he disappeared," during a period of intense fighting in the region and the country. In the same period a year earlier, five troops had been killed.
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http://theweek.com/article/index/262622/bowe-bergdahls-platoon-didnt-like-him-that-doesnt-mean-hes-a-traitor#axzz33h0KoOXB
brooklynite
(94,727 posts)They's accusing him (rightly or wrongly) with desertion.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)to the Taliban and/or collaborated with them--the accusation (but never a formal charge) of desertion was well-established to everyone in government years ago, so Repubs know that it's a little disingenuous to scream about it now, and they can't pretend they didn't know or they would look uninformed. Plus the damage value just isn't there, it's an old story and may be somewhat explainable by the fact that the kid was just screwed up or had PTSD. They had to ratchet up the public outcry against the swap by portraying Bergdahl as a potential turncoat, and also a killer of troops who supposedly searched for him. All according to plan, they knew this was coming at least three years ago. They probably can't believe Bergdahl still has a head--in the event a beheading video showed up they would say Obama clearly didn't do everything he could to get an American soldier rescued.
Andy823
(11,495 posts)No matte what would have happened they would have turned it into another of the made up BS scandals that they could use to try and smear the president. These idiots don't seem to realize that the military does not leave their troops behind, probably because most of the assholes that are pushing this crap never served their country, they just spew crap that make them look like the fools they really are.
This whole thing is political and I hope it comes back big time on them and shows the country just how sick these low life scumbags really are. You can bet your life if it was one of their children that had been held hostage they would be mad as hell if someone was saying that the prisoner exchange was the wrong thing to do. These morons have to go, the only way is voting them out of office in November.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)I won't link any of it but the meme that Bergdahl is a traitor is out there full steam on the right.
Andy823
(11,495 posts)Only sick jerks would do this, and I hope it comes back on the big time!