Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: wpeters on May 31, 2014, 12:12:27 PM
-
"Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, held for nearly 5 years by militants in Afghanistan war, is being freed, White House says." :salute
-
I'm happy for him, but I wonder at what cost his freedom has been bought.
-
I'm happy for him, but I wonder at what cost his freedom has been bought.
I wonder how he escaped decapitation for 5 years in Afganistan.
-
i thought i read he walked off base :uhoh I'm glad to hear he is coming home. one hell of a way to learn a lesson though.
-
i thought i read he walked off base :uhoh I'm glad to hear he is coming home. one hell of a way to learn a lesson though.
That's what I read, he walked off base with a Compass and a bottle of water.
At any rate, glad he's safe :aok
:salute
:cheers: Oz
-
I'm happy for him, but I wonder at what cost his freedom has been bought.
Gitmo releases?
-
So we're not even trying to conceal the fact that we're making deals with terrorists now.
-
So we're not even trying to conceal the fact that we're making deals with terrorists now.
You caught that too, eh? Appeasement doesn't work.
I'm glad the soldier is safe, I can't imagine the life he lived being in captivity with those fiends. At least the captives at gitmo, and most other places in the West get food, shelter, freedom to practice their religion, and once in awhile they even get to go to the beach and go water boarding, or whatever it is. Regardless, captives in the West don't have to worry about being decapitated.
-
i thought i read he walked off base :uhoh I'm glad to hear he is coming home. one hell of a way to learn a lesson though.
This guy is no hero. Glad he's back home and pretty sure he has a new appreciation for it. I wonder what his final disposition will be.
-
So we're not even trying to conceal the fact that we're making deals with terrorists now.
An illegal deal bypassing Congress.
-
US prisoner exchanges go back to Colonial times. Nothing new. Don't politic this up.
-
With terrorists?
-
With terrorists?
Iran count?
-
Iran count?
I would say so.
-
With terrorists?
The original United States soldier was a terrorist wasn't he? According to the British anyway.
Not negotiating and discussing options and transfer of power with the Taliban and Afghan tribal leaders is what got us into this mess in the first place.
This could be a step forward in negotiating a settlement. Too many Americans, British, Australians and Afghans have died already.
-
He was in the Army only a year before going to A'stan. He was only in A'stan a month before he walked off. I have nothing but love for a fellow soldier and I am so glad he is home, but I do hope he regrets that walk. We are (hopefully) getting out of there soon anyway. When we leave, it's going to be the same result as VietNam, so I'm glad we are getting our only POW back before then.
-
Glad to see we got him home, really brings to light the "no man left behind" saying passed around in our military.
When we leave, it's going to be the same result as VietNam,
I don't want to turn this into something political, but this will be far worse than Vietnam, and that's all I am going to say.
-
Thousands of soldiers who died in battle, to uphold the idea that we dont deal with terrorists,and ONE man returns, and by returning, negates every loss before him.
-
Thousands of soldiers who died in battle, to uphold the idea that we dont deal with terrorists,and ONE man returns, and by returning, negates every loss before him.
This thread is heading south faster than I expected. It was a prisoner exchange, not the end of some imaginary winning streak.
(http://marylandshooter.com/ar15/Funny/IBTL_BFL.jpg)
-
ya my DIs and ncos here had nothing but bad words about his so called desertion
-
Thousands of soldiers who died in battle, to uphold the idea that we dont deal with terrorists,and ONE man returns, and by returning, negates every loss before him.
I disagree. We soldiers live by, and die by the solemn creed of No Man Left Behind. I truly believe all of are fallen would want Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to go home. In my shrapnel filled soul I truly believe that.
Even though I have four daughters to think about, I would not hesitate for a second to give my own life trying to recover another soldier, dead or alive.
-
Bin Bags lot are making deals now?
They are knackered then :)
The US has them by the balls now :rofl
Drones = Vengence from above :)
-
Glad the guy is coming home..... he made Sergeant in a year ? :headscratch:
-
Promoted twice while in captivity IIRC.
Don't mean to stir the pot, but I've been on work sites where you can't leave without signing out and passing through a heavy security turnstile, how the hell can a guy just walk off an armed forces base in the middle of a war zone?
-
Iran count?
That's a nation state.
-
Not negotiating and discussing options and transfer of power with the Taliban and Afghan tribal leaders is what got us into this mess in the first place.
This could be a step forward in negotiating a settlement. Too many Americans, British, Australians and Afghans have died already.
I don't know where you get your information, but what got us "into this mess" was an al-Qaida attack on America that was openly and publically supported by the Taliban, then in control of most of Afghanistan. The UN ruled that Afghanistan was party to the attack, and NATO ruled it constituted an attack on the whole alliance. Thus we invaded Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban.
-
Glad to see we got him home, really brings to light the "no man left behind" saying passed around in our military.
I don't want to turn this into something political, but this will be far worse than Vietnam, and that's all I am going to say.
Debatable. Very much so. Mind you, I'm not pulling sides on your statement, but rather playing Devil's Advocate.
-
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/02/we-lost-soldiers-in-the-hunt-for-bergdahl-a-guy-who-walked-off-in-the-dead-of-night.html
-
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/02/we-lost-soldiers-in-the-hunt-for-bergdahl-a-guy-who-walked-off-in-the-dead-of-night.html
:O
If this is correct the guy must have been aware with pretty much concrete certainty that his fellow soldiers would be put in danger and come looking for him. The fact that some became casualties as a result is abhorrent on his part.
Bearing in mind however, he may well have been suffering from some form of psychosis or battle related mental condition that had a part to play in his leaving.
If he had earlier expressed a wish to leave and walk to India then I would also suggest that his oppo's were remiss in not bringing this to the attention of his commanders.
I would be interested to discover his motive, and as other's have stated, why he was not on prime time Al Jazeera :headscratch:
-
edited to stay within forum rules and avoid a rule #14. :lol :lol
-
Several sources day he's a deserter, and has nothing nice to say about his country. If this guy is a deserter, should they bring him back to punish him?
Are a gaggle of terrorist pigs worth giving up to punish him?
-
Several sources day he's a deserter, and has nothing nice to say about his country. If this guy is a deserter, should they bring him back to punish him?
Are a gaggle of terrorist pigs worth giving up to punish him?
Won't happen under this administration
-
Won't happen under this regime
You're right, Fixed
-
http://www.duffelblog.com/2014/06/bowe-bergdahl-freed-taliban/#
-
That duffleblog's pretty funny.
-
Won't happen under this administration
He'll probably will receive the same punishment Charles Robert Jenkins for deserting to North Korea back in the '60s when he was finally allowed to leave NK and return to the US in 2004. He got 30 days confinement and a dishonorable discharge.
Bergdahl will forever have to live knowing that he was a coward and his cowardice cost him 5 years of his life and more importantly, the lives of 6 US servicemen and a number of Afghani soldiers looking for him.
ack-ack
-
I wonder how he escaped decapitation for 5 years in Afganistan.
He wasn't killed because the Haqqani-Network (the group that captured and held him in captivity) wanted to use him as a bargaining chip.
ack-ack
-
Im not thanking God or anybody. If he deserted or consorted with the enemy its a spit in the face for every soldier who died or suffered, of any service of any Allied country, in that place. If this is what happened he deserves the full weight of military justice.
-
It will be interesting how it plays out, since he was a deserter who became a POW. Dishonorable Discharge or huge parade? In these times it's impossible to know.
-
There is only one penalty for desertion and treason......
-
I don't know where you get your information, but what got us "into this mess" was an al-Qaida attack on America that was openly and publically supported by the Taliban, then in control of most of Afghanistan. The UN ruled that Afghanistan was party to the attack, and NATO ruled it constituted an attack on the whole alliance. Thus we invaded Afghanistan to destroy the Taliban.
The major problem here is, similar to the invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR. We have propped up an entire government and administration with our own resources. I have almost no doubt that the moment we pull out of Afghanistan the Taliban will return with a vengeance.
The Taliban needed to be removed, there is no doubt there. But a failure to win hearts and minds and operate in conjunction with the locals is fatal to any occupation. No matter how strong the forces in the region are. The Coalition has made all the same mistakes that the USSR did during their war in Afghanistan. The only way to win this sort of war is either through liquidation or "westernization". And we cannot achieve either.
-
Anyone who has served in the region, from the lowest grunt up to the highest General knows within a week of your tour beginning that it's a waste of time, money and lives.
A regular army loses if it doesn't win, a guerilla army wins if it doesn't lose. In my experience the Afghans are about the most duplicitous, backward people I have ever met. The problem is that the majority appear to be comfortable exactly as they are, and who are we to try and change that?
Terry will be back in charge within two weeks of withdrawal
-
Anyone who has served in the region, from the lowest grunt up to the highest General knows within a week of your tour beginning that it's a waste of time, money and lives.
A regular army loses if it doesn't win, a guerilla army wins if it doesn't lose. In my experience the Afghans are about the most duplicitous, backward people I have ever met. The problem is that the majority appear to be comfortable exactly as they are, and who are we to try and change that?
Terry will be back in charge within two weeks of withdrawal
If you ask me, we should leave, but keep predators overhead 24/7 and be pretty liberal with the application of ordnance. Talli loses targets they can hit, but still can't poke their noses out anywhere that matters.
If you ask me, I'd call that a defeat for a guerrilla army.
-
They are fighting an ideological religious war. Their reserves of men, equipment and will to fight are infinite.
Ours are not. The longer this goes on, the weaker we will be.
-
Anyone who has served in the region, from the lowest grunt up to the highest General knows within a week of your tour beginning that it's a waste of time, money and lives.
A regular army loses if it doesn't win, a guerilla army wins if it doesn't lose. In my experience the Afghans are about the most duplicitous, backward people I have ever met. The problem is that the majority appear to be comfortable exactly as they are, and who are we to try and change that?
Terry will be back in charge within two weeks of withdrawal
Graveyard of Empires...
-
It wasn't always like this... Public library in Kabul, Afghanistan, ca. 1950.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26232318/afghanistan1950.jpg)
-
My God!! You can see their faces.... and their ANKLES :O
-
Before religious extremism they used to have it all...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/1950s_Afghanistan_-_Public_transport_in_Kabul.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/1950s_Afghanistan_-_Biology_class%2C_Kabul_University.jpg)
(http://www.picomazing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Kabul-1980-1950-1960-1970-Afghanistan-5.jpg)
(http://www.picomazing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Kabul-1980-1950-1960-1970-Afghanistan-3.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/1950s_Afghanistan_-_Student_nurses_at_Maternity_Hospital,_Kabul.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b2gc-dzlH9g/UdWShU_O21I/AAAAAAAAA2c/9kgdSkxO9Jo/s991/Afghan+medical+students+-+1962.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sz9hSc4WM_k/TieZHSjpOCI/AAAAAAABG9o/bsbCc2kElE8/s1600/Afghanistan_in_1950s_1960s_23.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/1950s_Afghanistan_-_Sarobi_hydro-power_plant_on_Kabul_River.jpg)
(http://www.afghanistan.no/noop/image.php?id=2409)
-
Those pictures make me sad. :cry
I will trade you one lousy soldier that could not do his duty for 5 top notch fighters. Sounds like a good trade for....... :bolt:
-
the 5 top notch soldiers got captured just like the lousy soldier. and they probably spent more years too.
semp
-
Looks remarkable like pictures of Rhodesia before and after 1980 :bhead
-
I was hearing 13 soldiers died trying to find him... for a desertion. Wow. If he has a soul there won't be a punishment better than the one he's already going through.
-
I was hearing 13 soldiers died trying to find him... for a desertion. Wow. If he has a soul there won't be a punishment better than the one he's already going through.
If he had one he would not have abandoned his position, knowing the creed of soldiers to protect their own, he must have been aware that someone would come looking for him and all that entails.
Either the guy was deficient in some way, in which case he has my sympathy, or he was aware of the consequences and did it anyway, in which case he can go to hell
-
You guys might want to get up to speed on what it cost his fellow soldiers while the military was looking for him. This guy is no hero. Ask the men who lost friends looking for him after he deserted. You won't see the family members of the men who were killed searching for him receiving any condolences at the White House either.
Btw, he was a PFC when he walked away from his post. The Army made him a Sgt. while he was missing. Go figure.
-
Before religious extremism they used to have it all...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/1950s_Afghanistan_-_Public_transport_in_Kabul.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/1950s_Afghanistan_-_Biology_class%2C_Kabul_University.jpg)
(http://www.picomazing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Kabul-1980-1950-1960-1970-Afghanistan-5.jpg)
(http://www.picomazing.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Kabul-1980-1950-1960-1970-Afghanistan-3.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/1950s_Afghanistan_-_Student_nurses_at_Maternity_Hospital,_Kabul.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b2gc-dzlH9g/UdWShU_O21I/AAAAAAAAA2c/9kgdSkxO9Jo/s991/Afghan+medical+students+-+1962.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sz9hSc4WM_k/TieZHSjpOCI/AAAAAAABG9o/bsbCc2kElE8/s1600/Afghanistan_in_1950s_1960s_23.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/1950s_Afghanistan_-_Sarobi_hydro-power_plant_on_Kabul_River.jpg)
(http://www.afghanistan.no/noop/image.php?id=2409)
My God they've invented the time machine! Only place in the planet where progression goes backwards.
-
Btw, he was a PFC when he walked away from his post. The Army made him a Sgt. while he was missing. Go figure.
Promotion doesn't end in the US military if one is a PoW.
-
Promotion doesn't end in the US military if one is a PoW.
How about deserter?
-
How about deserter?
That has to be proved first in a military court.
-
My God they've invented the time machine! Only place in the planet where progression goes backwards.
Unfortunately it is common in the post-colonial world.
Mogadishu in Somalia used to look like this back in the '30s before the Italians left. They had electricity and everything.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Mogadishu1936.jpg)
Now it's like something out of a post-apocalyptic horror film.
-
That has to be proved first in a military court.
What's the typical punishment for desertion?
Also, what the hell? What's wrong with that part of the world?
-
What's the typical punishment for desertion?
It'll never happen. Odds are he'll never be tried. To do so would give a political black eye to the administration, especially after all the pomp and hype they heaped on his release. This story will just fade away. It served it's purpose, to kick the VA scandal out of the headlines.
Now the country can get back to watching Dancing With The Stars, and these 5 Taliban monsters can get back to stoning women and sawing off heads.
-
The investigation and trial would be a military matter, not political. Gen Martin Dempsey said Sgt Bergdahl "is innocent until proven guilty", but he also said the Army would not dismiss "misconduct if it occurred".
What was this man's freedom worth?
• Mohammad Fazl served as the Taliban's deputy defence minister during America's military campaign in 2001. Accused of possible war crimes, including the murder of thousands of Shia Muslims and others including Pashtuns and Tajiks.
• Khairullah Khairkhwa was a senior Taliban official serving as interior minister and governor of Herat, Afghanistan's third largest city.
• Abdul Haq Wasiq was the Taliban's deputy minister of intelligence. Said to have been central in forming alliances with other Islamist groups.
• Mullah Norullah Noori was a senior Taliban military commander and a governor. Also accused of being involved in the mass killings of Shia Muslims and others.
• Mohammad Nabi Omari is alleged to have been involved in attacks against US and coalition forces, with close links to the Haqqani network.
-
The investigation and trial would be a military matter, not political. Gen Martin Dempsey said Sgt Bergdahl "is innocent until proven guilty", but he also said the Army would not dismiss "misconduct if it occurred".
In earlier times I would have agreed with you, but recently the military has become so political, especially at the senior command level, that I fear this won't be the case. I hope you're right though.
-
Locked for violation of forum posting rule #14.