Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion

[Juvenal]

I think, if you were here, I'd have to slap you on your rapidly balding head with a rotting fish.

I'll have you know the rate has been decreasing over time!

[Cow Poke]

I'll have you know the rate has been decreasing over time!

You mean the rate of decrease has been decreasing? That's good news! (Unless, of course, like Global Warming, it's not really decreasing, but merely "paused". )

In many men, it reverts to the typical "male pattern baldness", then hangs tough to death.

[Juvenal]

It wasn't the RESCUE, it was the idiotic "prisoner exchange".

So, because you're sure they were going to behead him, the great "prisoner exchange" - the way it was done - was the only option. I think you're drinking too much of that hair-grow.

The folks who object to Bergdahl's rescue really have divorced themselves from the likely consequences, though, and you're very much among them ...

[Cow Poke]

Yeah, I thought you were better than that. For sure, stop drinking the hair-grow.

[Juvenal]

You mean the rate of decrease has been decreasing? That's good news! (Unless, of course, like Global Warming, it's not really decreasing, but merely "paused". )

In many men, it reverts to the typical "male pattern baldness", then hangs tough to death.

The "perfect" hair is my go-to joke when I sense a need to lighten the mood in class. I usually mix it in with something self-deprecating.

I did my usual "Rapunzel" quiz a few weeks ago ...

Q: "How long does Rapunzel need to grow her hair to escape from the building?"

A: Base line * tan(elevation angle)

The weaker students needed a pick-me-up, so I went on about how, after all that work, she'd have to cut it off once she was down!

...

But it always grows back, right?

*peering up as if to see the top of my head*

*laughter*

Perfectly!

*more laughter*

But in fact I haven't lost much coverage. It's just a widow's peak that's been moving back slowly, along with general thinning. I figure I'll end up with a fringe around my crown, like my maternal grandfather. That's the usual inheritance.

[Paprika]

they're just as morally culpable.

Those who support the exchange will be just as morally culpable for the actions of the released terrorists.

[Juvenal]

Those who support the exchange will be just as morally culpable for the actions of the released terrorists.

Granting they were all "terrorists" — the lack of evidence needed to charge them notwithstanding — those who support the exchange would also be exonerated of blame for recruitment based on these terrorists' continued captivity in Guantanamo. Orange jumpsuits are still the last word in fashion for decapitation videos, and decapitation videos are still the last word in recruitment ... though "martyr-mission" bombings might give them a run for their money.

We kill that many "terrorists," with and without the caution quotes, in any given week through drone strikes. Five more out in the wild isn't the issue. The real problem, just from the numbers side, is the pipeline that keeps providing more of them.

[Paprika]

Granting they were all "terrorists" — the lack of evidence needed to charge them notwithstanding — those who support the exchange would also be exonerated of blame for recruitment based on these terrorists' continued captivity in Guantanamo

And would likewise be liable for blame for recruitment based on the successful negotiation for the release of five former senior leaders of the Taliban in exchange for one lowly US soldier, a great victory for them.

We kill that many "terrorists," with and without the caution quotes, in any given week through drone strikes. Five more out in the wild isn't the issue. The real problem, just from the numbers side, is the pipeline that keeps providing more of them.

The five aren't mere rank-and-file but held high leadership positions, as above.

[Juvenal]

And would likewise be liable for blame for recruitment based on the successful negotiation for the release of five former senior leaders of the Taliban in exchange for one lowly US soldier, a great victory for them.


The five aren't mere rank-and-file but held high leadership positions, as above.

The Weekly Standard isn't credible in general, and in this article, is obviously engaging in a historical revisionism that doesn't pass the chortle test. Again and again, they refer negatively to actions taken prior to 9/11, when the Northern Alliance were Russian allies, when al Qaeda was a co-belligerent with the US against the Soviets, and the Mujahedin were our courageous friends.

Rambo III

John Rambo's former Vietnam superior, Colonel Samuel Trautman, has been assigned to lead a mission to help the Mujahedeen rebels who are fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but the Buddhist Rambo turns down Trautman's request that Rambo help out. When the mission goes belly up and Trautman is kidnapped and tortured by Russian Colonel Zaysen, Rambo launches a rescue effort and allies himself with the Mujahedeen rebels and gets their help in trying to rescue Trautman from Zaysen.

Keep that in mind as you're reading this ...

Mullah Mohammad Fazl ... prior to 9/11 ...

Mullah Norullah Noori (senior Taliban military commander): ... “fought ... against the Northern alliance.”

Abdul Haq Wasiq (Taliban deputy minister of intelligence): ... prior to 9/11 ...

Khairullah Khairkhwa (Taliban governor of the Herat province and former interior minister): ... prior to 9/11 ...

"We are at war with Eastasia. We've always been at war with Eastasia."

[Sparko]

The Weekly Standard isn't credible in general, and in this article, is obviously engaging in a historical revisionism that doesn't pass the chortle test. Again and again, they refer negatively to actions taken prior to 9/11, when the Northern Alliance were Russian allies, when al Qaeda was a co-belligerent with the US against the Soviets, and the Mujahedin were our courageous friends.

Rambo III

John Rambo's former Vietnam superior, Colonel Samuel Trautman, has been assigned to lead a mission to help the Mujahedeen rebels who are fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but the Buddhist Rambo turns down Trautman's request that Rambo help out. When the mission goes belly up and Trautman is kidnapped and tortured by Russian Colonel Zaysen, Rambo launches a rescue effort and allies himself with the Mujahedeen rebels and gets their help in trying to rescue Trautman from Zaysen.

Keep that in mind as you're reading this ...

Mullah Mohammad Fazl ... prior to 9/11 ...

Mullah Norullah Noori (senior Taliban military commander): ... “fought ... against the Northern alliance.”

Abdul Haq Wasiq (Taliban deputy minister of intelligence): ... prior to 9/11 ...

Khairullah Khairkhwa (Taliban governor of the Herat province and former interior minister): ... prior to 9/11 ...

"We are at war with Eastasia. We've always been at war with Eastasia."

uh. wait. You are calling an article non-credible, and your evidence is quoting a hollywood movie description?

[Juvenal]

uh. wait. You are calling an article non-credible, and your evidence is quoting a hollywood movie description?

Please, tell me more about how Rambo III didn't represent American attitudes at the time.

Box Office

$53,715,611 (USA) (18 September 1988)
$53,693,407 (USA) (11 September 1988)
$53,668,183 (USA) (5 September 1988)
$53,630,055 (USA) (28 August 1988)
$53,593,129 (USA) (21 August 1988)
$53,496,856 (USA) (14 August 1988)
$53,377,574 (USA) (7 August 1988)
$53,177,694 (USA) (31 July 1988)
$52,825,988 (USA) (24 July 1988)
$52,291,449 (USA) (17 July 1988)
$50,557,449 (USA) (10 July 1988)
$49,293,739 (USA) (4 July 1988)
$47,116,095 (USA) (26 June 1988)
$44,043,695 (USA) (19 June 1988)
$39,491,869 (USA) (12 June 1988)
$32,328,865 (USA) (5 June 1988)
$21,207,353 (USA) (30 May 1988)

Y'all make this way too easy.

[rogue06]

That will be up to the court to decide, not you.



Military law is not so different from civil law. The same constitutional protections exist for example and you are entitled to the presumption of innocence until you are proven guilty.



The"evidence to the contrary" is yet to be tested by the court.


are you suggesting that the attempted retrieval of captured Americans no longer be considered a priority?



Actually no. To have left Bergdahl as a captive in Afghanistan, rather than attempt to rescue him, would have been to assume his guilt without trial which is contrary to US law - both civil and military.

IIRC (and it is conceivable that I'm wrong), during the Vietnam War there were many incidents of soldiers going AWOL or suspected of desertion and who allegedly ended up working for various criminal syndicates. If they got themselves in trouble the military didn't lift a finger to rescue them. When we pulled out of the country the military didn't lift a finger to bring them along. They didn't say that they were innocent until proven guilty in a court of law so we should assume they were kidnapped or something.

[Sparko]

Please, tell me more about how Rambo III didn't represent American attitudes at the time.

Box Office

$53,715,611 (USA) (18 September 1988)
$53,693,407 (USA) (11 September 1988)
$53,668,183 (USA) (5 September 1988)
$53,630,055 (USA) (28 August 1988)
$53,593,129 (USA) (21 August 1988)
$53,496,856 (USA) (14 August 1988)
$53,377,574 (USA) (7 August 1988)
$53,177,694 (USA) (31 July 1988)
$52,825,988 (USA) (24 July 1988)
$52,291,449 (USA) (17 July 1988)
$50,557,449 (USA) (10 July 1988)
$49,293,739 (USA) (4 July 1988)
$47,116,095 (USA) (26 June 1988)
$44,043,695 (USA) (19 June 1988)
$39,491,869 (USA) (12 June 1988)
$32,328,865 (USA) (5 June 1988)
$21,207,353 (USA) (30 May 1988)

Y'all make this way too easy.

Yup. You have definitely lost your mind.

[rogue06]

That's an interesting take. I don't know if the Dems would allow that, given the huge political issue that would cause any Democratic presidential hopeful - HOWEVER - Obama never seems to care about the cost to others as long as he gets what he wants.

It could be done after the election just as he prepares to leave office. I could see a miffed Obama doing it if the Republicans win the presidency as a way of thumbing his nose at the American public for letting him down.

[rogue06]

That latter point is due, of course, to the screaming hordes of fringe news consumers who've been actively engaged in trying Bergdahl in the press. Ironically, these are the same screaming hordes who pride themselves on supporting our troops.

Those who do support our troops are likely to have little sympathy for an apparent deserter. It is the equivalent of betraying that trust and support. And unverified sob stories that he wasn't treated to tea parties by the Taliban are not likely to sway that opinion.