According to reports, the unit in Afghanistan which POW Bowe Bergdahl belonged to was notorious for discipline problems and lapses in security. Keep this in mind the next time you see one of Bergdahl's fellow soldiers talking about him on the news like he's a piece of $hit.
Something stinks about this desperate need for Bergdahl's fellow soldiers and the Right-wing media to convince the public Bergdahl is everything from a deserter to a jihadist.
Even Fox "News" appears to have taken up the mission to enforce the Bergdahl-is-a-dirt-bag-who-got-his-fellow-soldiers-killed narrative. Not so fast.
Suspicion breeds more suspicion. So while I'm supposed to be suspicious of Bergdahl, I'm growing much more suspicious of those who are hell-bent on getting the public to not only dislike Bergdhal but also to see both him and his family as traitorous terrorist-sympathizers.
Before he "disappeared", Bergdahl reportedly emailed his parents implying that a vehicle from his unit ran over an Afghan child and that soldiers were joking about it.
Aside from that, Bergdahl's unit was reportedly known as a troubled unit. One of the platoon commanders was replaced early on because of problems. Bergdahl himself was seen as an eccentric who preferred to read books instead of watching videos. Apparently, he was very much his own man, which may not have sat well with those with whom he had to serve.
But putting that aside, why does there seem to be a coordinated and desperate need to get us to hate this POW? And why has this seemingly integrated media strategy gotten off the ground so quickly?
It may be because Fox "News" contributor and former John Bolton spokesperson Richard Grenell coordinated interviews for Bergdahl's fellow soldiers who then went on TV to destroy Bergdahl's name.
Grenell and his firm, Capitol Media, "played a key role in publicizing" Bergdahl's fellow soldiers who then went on to call him a deserter and blame him for the deaths of other soldiers.
There's a fcking PR firm behind the scenes almost as if somebody is afraid of what Bergdahl might have to say now that he's back in the hands of the U.S. military!
Since Bergdahl is back in the hands of the United States, why all of a sudden does it seem imperative for the public not trust a word out of his mouth? Suddenly, we're supposed to believe Bergdahl has no credibility and may have been working with the Taliban??
Never mind the fact it's the first time… ever…. that most of the public is hearing of Bergdahl's alleged desertion…. alleged terrorist-sympathies….. and alleged jihadist mentality. Now, convince me why someone with all the aforementioned attributes would get held for 5 years in captivity by the Taliban.
Did Soldiers Die Looking for Him or Not?
Though most of the screaming media are trying to ignore it, it's slowly being revealed that some soldiers' deaths — previously attributed to Bergdahl's search — may not have had anything at all to do with him.
A June 3 2014 New York Times (NYT) report questioned the link between POW Bergdahl and the deaths of other soldiers cited by Bergdahl's fellow platoon members.
According to a review of military logs and casualty reports, at least two of the soldiers who allegedly died searching for Bergdahl were in fact NOT out patrolling or looking for him when they were killed.
On July 4, they died when they were inside an outpost as it came under attack. Not only did that same outpost come under insurgent attack months before that July 4 attack, but it also was attacked before Bergdahl even went missing.
So, no, these two soldiers weren't out searching for Bergdahl when they were killed. And, no, the outpost wasn't attacked after Bergdahl's disappearance simply because insurgents had telepathy and knew to target this particular outpost.
In addition, a military log about that July 4 attack which killed those two solders didn't mention ANYTHING about anybody searching for Bergdahl.
According to the New York Times, when looking through the logs for the deaths of those soldiers, the logs "do not mention any link to Bergdahl search operations".
A "retired senior American military officer" cited by the NYT said the soldiers would have been "conducting patrols and performing risky operations anyway."
It's just one example of how people need to calm the fck down and get accurate information before turning the anti-Obama, anti-government, anti-black vitriol dial to 11.
Who the hell is Bergdahl?
Just who the hell is Bowe Bergdahl? I can't even answer that question because the first time I've ever heard of him was through the filter of the media and flip-flopping, cowardly elected officials who routinely talk out of both sides of their faces.
According to reports, Bergdahl himself was a voracious reader while his fellow soldiers watched videos or slept. Some called Bergdahl "standoffish" or "eccentric" while others said he was enthusiastic about fighting the enemy.
Gerald Sutton, who knew Bergdahl from spending time with him at an outpost, said the Bergdahl he knew was nothing like this current media portrait painted by Bergdahl's fellow soldiers.
Sutton told the New York Times:
"He wanted to take the fight to the enemy and do the mission of the infantry… He was a good soldier, and whenever he was told to do something, he would do it."
Josh Cornelison, the platoon's medic, said Bergdahl was disillusioned as an infantryman but "showed more interest in humanitarian activities, like passing out food or medical supplies to Afghan villagers," according to the NYT.
This wasn't Bergdahl's first time off the base, according to the internal army review. So where was he going and why did he feel the need to leave? Why did he come back? Was this a routine for him? Was he the only one to leave the base or was this practiced habitually by other soldiers as well?
We certainly won't get any answers from those who have it set in their minds that this "deserter" should have been killed by the Taliban because….because, uh, you know… freedom. Oh, and his father looks like a Muslim.
Yall asses are going to have to come up with something more than that.
// Extra //
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/us/us-soldier-bowe-bergdahl-case-highlights-a-unit-known-for-troubles.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=U.S.&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=article
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/world/middleeast/can-gi-be-tied-to-6-lost-lives-facts-are-murky.html
https://wardiaries.wikileaks.org/id/0x080e00000121ff5fb3b2160d668562b4/
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2014/06/03/fox-news-contributor-behind-pr-campaign-for-sol/19956