Recently the administration traded 5 dangerous detainees held by the US and traded them for 1 American serviceman. Did the administration break the law by not working with congress informing them of the potential release of dangerous criminals?
There is no doubt to the detainees. They have been transferred to Qatar and will be closely monitored for 1 year. Then what?
What did the US get in return?
The real question is whether he is a hero or a deserter. Significantly,
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel pointedly declines to say whether he
believes that Bergdahl was attempting to desert the Army or go AWOL when
he suddenly left his unit in Afghanistan in 2009 and disappeared.
E-mails he sent prior to his capture surfaced in 2012 in Rolling Stone and indicated that he had been considering desertion.
As George Stephanopoulos stated:
This was moving so fast, they couldn’t talk to the Congress. But they
also say the president, when he signed this law, said he had the
constitutional authority not to live by it, that he had the
constitutional authority to go around Congress and simply do what he
needed to do to get the detainees back to their home countries.
But Hagel says those facts are immaterial to the decision to engage in
the controversial prisoner swap. “Our first priority is assuring his
well-being and his health and getting him reunited with his family,” he
told reporters. “Other circumstances that may develop and questions —
those will be dealt with later.” What an amazing turn around from Benghazi where nothing was done for the 4 murdered Americans and nothing done to date to bring those to justice for the murders.
The Obama administration’s consistently cavalier attitude toward the
rule of law — whether regarding the IRS scandal, Fast and Furious,
Obamacare, immigration, or the repeated refusal to answer congressional
subpoenas — is profoundly disturbing. When is a law a law? A law is a law when Obama likes it and suits his needs, it isn't when he chooses to ignore it. What can congress do? Nothing as they lack standing to sue in court. This like the ACA has set new precedent for the coming future presidents. I suspect the Democrats will lament the day Obama changed the paradigm of government rule of law.
Really louman. we have done prisoner swaps in every war we have ever been engaged in and I bet most were done without the approval of Congress. I bet many were done during and after battle by unit commanders. There is always the risk that they may return to the field of battle. There is going to be an attempt to monitor these individuals in a friendly country. Bergdahl was the last US prisoner in Afghanistan. We are preparing to leave. Have you forgotten the difficulties in returning our POW's after Vietnam? Why Bergdahl was captured and what he was doing is insignificant. He is an American and we don't leave our soldiers behind if we can help it. For all the bullshit leveled at the president and Hilary over Benghazi, he now took measures to save a life and you aren't happy with that either. Face it Louman it's not the events that anger you it is who is doing them.
ReplyDeleteThis kinda shows the politicizing of Benghazi is real not imagined.
Really Rick, why is it that you like the morons in Washington make excuses for everything this administration does? Is their anything that would upset you that Obama does? You hated Richard Nixon for his transgressions yet say nothing about Obama. That would make you a true Obama shill.
DeleteTrade 1 possible deserter for 5 criminals who will either kill of mastermind how many deaths?
It doesn't matter to you that Obama signed into law in 2011 that congress must be notified prior to transfer of any Gitmo detainee?
Desertion is insignificant?
Politicizing of Benghazi? What was done or not isn't the issue as Lebanon or any other tragedy in foreign countries.
It's why we dumped Richard Nixon. Not for a petty break in but for the cover up, the lies and the I'm above the law. Obama is quite equal to Richard Nixon. The only difference is our elected officials in congress had integrity then, today, zero integrity, anything goes. The right covers up, the left covers up. There is no difference between parties as both are equally corrupt. Sup[ported by their fawning masses like you Rick.
Prisoners at Gitmo must be fed, clothed and treated humanely under U.S. law. So, if I were in charge I would let all of them go, in small groups, contingent upon them having implanted tracking devices. And once they were back with the terrorists it would be a simple matter to send in the drones and wipe them out.
DeleteYou know louman Obama has done a lot that I am not happy with. But you guys incessantly bring up shit that is just everyday running of the government, shit that has went on since we became a country and it never bothered you until now. It is who it is not what it is that angers you so much.
DeleteNixon vs Obama? Obama has not broken the stated laws of this country. If he has then impeach him. Richard Nixon and his cronies broke several laws doing a petty break-in as you call it, a break-in that President Nixon knew full well was going down. If only he hadn't quit we could have gotten to the bottom of that. Was Bergdahl a deserter? Can't we get back to the innocent until proven guilty you all espoused for George Zimmerman? See you guys only want to see things one way on an individual basis. Innocent until proven guilty has to be the case in every instance not only for murderers who have proven themselves to be idiots that only got off because the prosecution tried to take too big a bite. Maybe Bergdahl was trying to desert, maybe he wasn't. In any case he IS an American soldier and we don't leave them behind.
Impeach him? That would take a Democratic party with integrity as well as a Senate with integrity which no longer exists.
DeleteNixon left for doing what Obama has done, lied and covered up information. Did Nixon break a law? No, Nixon didn't break a law but he did lie about it and cover it up.
Great job releasing people who are responsible for killing Americans for a deserter, fits Obama's M.O.
Stick with the mantra Rick, it fits you well as a progressive shill without questioning anything.
Excellent idea Mick. Spread them to all corners of the globe. Perhaps the implants are already in place to be activated in 366 days.
DeleteReady the drones
can we have innocent until proven guilty for Bergdahl please. You extended it to a murderer.
DeleteIf Obama broke the law IMPEACH HIM. It doesn't take the senate to impeach him only to confirm it. You control the house as you did for Clinton. You had no problem impeaching him for getting a little action on the side. If Obama is so bad IMPEACH him. The house can do it all by themselves. you may not get him out of office but you can still impeach him. Why don't they? Because it is a bunch of politicized bullshit.
I admire the contributions of Louman on almost any subject. Lou became my friend some years ago when I was (still am) trying to understand some of the fundamental parts of your political and constitutional arrangements and beliefs. Having said that by way of a mea culpa; I am now about to disagree with my friend.
DeleteI have to wonder what part the congress could legitimately be expected to play in the release of the American soldier who would have been the only living serviceman in Afghanistan following the final cessation of operations. As William pointed out on another thread, Americans do not leave their countrymen on a battlefield. From that which has been reported so far as verifiable facts, it appears that small secret and speedy was the optimum path required. We have seen the political ineptitude and dog in a manger attitude by both sides of congress for years, there would have been committee after committee formed to debate the question and those who now rail at the administration for by passing Congress, including my friend, appear to have put procedure before expediency.
We must now look to consequences. The six who have been exchanged are apparently to be monitored for a year. It must be over a decade since they were incarcerated and their organisation has been largely immobilised by some top class US intelligence gathering and targeted strikes. Sure these people are a threat but does not your security service provide a bigger threat to them?
What does concern me is the possibility that Bergdahl may be other than what he appears.We need more information to determine if he is a possible sympathiser to the terrorist irganisatin or whether his action prior to capture were simply the action of an immature young man who read too many comic books.
Cheers from Aussie
Kingston,
DeleteThe question remains. The Law which Obama signed in 2011 clearly states Congress must be informed prior to any movement of detainees at Gitmo.
Having said that, did the administration break the law by releasing 5 terrorists? Was it a wise decision? Guess we will wait and see and hope they do not revert to past activities. Unlikely.
As far as our end of the deal:
Nathan Bradley Bethea wrote stated on Monday that they both served in the same battalion.
The night before he disappeared on June 30, Bethea said Bergdahl was on guard duty at a small outpost. The next morning, he failed to show up for morning roll call. Soldiers discovered his body armor, rifle, helmet and web gear in a neat stack, with his compass left behind, Bethea wrote.
“The truth is: Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down,” he said.
Soldiers were then forced to remain silent about Bergdahl’s disappearance and the search for him, Bethea added, which led to some soldiers losing their lives.
"I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything going on," Former Sgt. Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl's platoon, told CNN. “"Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him."
His former squad leader, Greg Leatherman, told CNN “I believe that an investigation should take place as soon as healthcare professionals deem him fit to endure one."
At least six U.S. soldiers died hunting for Bergdahl, CNN reports.
Many of his fellow troops also told CNN that they had to sign nondisclosure agreements to never share information about his disappearance and the hunt for him.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteLou(sorry had to correct a typo)
DeleteOne of the things I remember about some of the great leaders is the dictum that;" Laws are made for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools" follow this with your post, quote the question remains. The Law which Obama signed in 2011 clearly states Congress must be informed prior to any movement of detainees at Gitmo unquote.
Now, is it not a fact that the removal of the detainees and the closure of Gtmo are desired by the vast majority of Americans? Is it not a fact that the presence of the facility is a carbuncle on the arse of America which is so unsightly to the outside world and so embarrassing to the conscience of the US that almost any means to get rid of it is justified.
The remainder of your post articulates my views as indicated in the last para of my post. I think Ric at 12.38 makes a very good point, yes your case is convincing Lou but I for one want conclusive proof in an American court before I will pronounce the man guilty.
As for your President and the two houses, yes they drive me to distraction and it defeats all reason that some members and senators should be so self centered that they will sit in those hallowed halls and not for one minute heed the entreaties of those long gone. Without those looking down, where would the present lot, from both sides be?
I am wearing a heart monitor for two days, when I started typing this BP was 136/82 I notice now it is 165/85. Your bloody politics will be the death of me old friend.
Cheers from Aussie
Your assertion would preclude the rule of law is meaningless and any president can do what ever they want.
DeleteSo we release 5 KNOWN criminal for a person who walked away from his post. American servicemen lost their lives looking for him. He will never be tried and this as many things done by this administration will be swept under the rug.
The point, are we a nation of laws? I agree with your post. " Laws are made for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools"
Seems we are no longer that nation of laws, rule of law a thing of the past.
Hope you are well.
And while we trade 5 dangerous known criminals for 1 petty criminal a Marine sits in a Mexican jail without Obama's white house doing anything. His crime, making the wrong turn ending up at the Mexican border crossing carrying his rifles which he was transporting to his new base. Guess getting rid of 5 terrorists is more important than this marine.
DeleteI'm having a hard time determining who is the bigger traitor to our country, Bergdahl or Snowden.
ReplyDeleteGive me some time.
Wouldn't it depend on motivation?
DeleteSeems Bergdahl did it for personal reasons.
Snowden said he did it inform Americans what their government was doing. Would you know your government was spying on you today with out Snowden's expose'?
I always assumed the government was spying on all sorts of folks.
DeleteThe Bergdahl story seems incomplete.
Both characters it seems have or will cause the deaths of many Americans.
Gve me some time to consider.
Just another in the long list of Obama scandals and all the usual suspect shills come to defend.
ReplyDeleteI find it amazing that no matter what O does, people like Rick has his back. However they will be the first to scream foul when a Repub has done the same thing.
DeleteI was amazed the first time it happened. This particular breed your are attempting to talk to is dangerous. History shows it time and again. I doubt i need to elaborate.
DeleteRead about the Nixon times.
DeleteA petty break in.
They lied about it.
They covered it up.
He lost his job.
"Plumbers" unit was then established by Nixon aides in the White House with the sole purpose of gathering political intelligence on perceived enemies. Sound familiar , kind of like the IRS.
Perhaps the most notorious dirty trick was a letter planted in a New Hampshire newspaper alleging that leading Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine, had referred to Americans of French-Canadian descent as "Canucks." Harry Reid called the presidential candidate Romney a tax evader, and nothing was done about the false statement.
"Whether ours shall continue to be a government of laws and not of men is now for Congress and ultimately the American people," Archibald Cox
We are clearly a government of men today and not laws.
Compare it to the happenings during this administration.
Has Obama lied?
Has he covered up his transgressions?
Have people died?
Has he broken our laws?
Has he used prosecutorial discretion to avoid enforcing the law?
Yet he remains in office.
Then we held our public officials to a higher standard. Now there is no standard. People have such low expectations.
Compelling case, Iouman. But you had me at, "hello"!
DeleteGet a load of Rick in this short video clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGfXiIXTpE0
I wonder what ties, if any, are there between this Bergdahl fiasco and the Obama administration outing The CIA chief last week.
ReplyDeletehttp://therightscoop.com/walid-shoebat-reveals-disturbing-comments-and-youtube-activity-of-bowe-bergdahls-father/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRightScoop+%28The+Right+Scoop%29
ReplyDeleteThis Obama character is always doing the darnedest things.