tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post5688819065172289378..comments2024-03-25T13:42:25.771-05:00Comments on Advance Indiana™: The Reporter Who Provided The Definitive Account On Bowe BergdahlGary R. Welshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-58204174127935846292014-06-06T15:59:00.478-05:002014-06-06T15:59:00.478-05:00It's time for McCain to retire. His days of us...It's time for McCain to retire. His days of usefulness have long since passed. He knew about the potential for the release of these five Taliban prisoners two years ago when Hastings wrote his story. He huffed and puffed and then said he would go for it. Now he's singing a different tune. Gary R. Welshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-77952198327419960672014-06-06T13:59:36.421-05:002014-06-06T13:59:36.421-05:00I’ve always liked John McCain, and I voted for him...I’ve always liked John McCain, and I voted for him for President instead of Obama, probably because I grew up in a military family and I respect military men. John McCain has spent much of the past week denying that he changed his position about exchanging Taliban prisoners for American soldier Bowe Bergdahl. So he probably wasn't happy this morning, when the Washington Post's official fact-checker, Glenn Kessler, sided with the people who think McCain flip-flopped on Bergdahl.<br />McCain told Jake Tapper on Thursday that, although he previously expressed his willingness to exchange prisoners for Bergdahl, he would never have done so if he'd known exactly which prisoners would be exchanged. Kessler, though, poked some big holes in that argument:<br />“… since the deal was announced, he (McCain) has suggested that the question of trading the Taliban Five for Bergdahl was a surprise—and that’s certainly not the case. These five men were always part of the prisoner swap, so that is not a detail that can be in dispute. Indeed, only a day after The Washington Post revealed a deal was in the works to trade the five men for Bergdahl, McCain appeared on television with what was billed as a “new position.”<br /><br />McCain may have thought he left himself an out when he said his support was dependent on the details. But then he can’t object to the most important detail–the identity of the prisoners–that was known at the time he indicated his support. McCain earns an upside-down Pinocchio, constituting a flip-flop.”<br /><br />So the moral is that Republicans and Democrats are the same. But Republicans consistently win the prize for being the biggest hypocrites. Sorry. Don’t shoot the messenger. Its like getting your daily lecture from Rush Limbaugh on family values from a guy who can’t hold onto a wife. These are your Republicans today. They drone on and on about their values. But in the end, no.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-70783611637170284152014-06-06T13:16:31.417-05:002014-06-06T13:16:31.417-05:00ou can count me among the people who believe Micha...ou can count me among the people who believe Michael Hastings was murdered and that his death was not accidental. He told the truth about matters best left untold in the opinions of those who favored concealment. He ruffled so many feathers its difficult to guess who killed him. After he broke the Bergdahl story and spilled out the controversial issues still being talked about this hour, that story escalated into an FBI investigation and then morphed into an international terrorist manhunt. Hastings was a patriot and a truth teller. His death, like the Bergdahl story, the Snowden story, the NSA story; they are all inextricably linked to one another. We are not supposed to know the truth. Guys like Garrison are pawns. They see opportunities to spin stories into political advantage, no matter the truth. The truth is that if a Republican president had exchanged Taliban for Bergdahl, Garrison would be extolling his virtues. But Michael Hastings was not a hypocrite or political shill. And he died for telling his truths. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-49637578643295465702014-06-06T13:03:27.540-05:002014-06-06T13:03:27.540-05:00You're right, Gary.
The US funded the Taliban...You're right, Gary.<br /><br />The US funded the Taliban for years, even bringing their leaders to the US for tours of America in the 1980s.<br /><br />The terrorist "organization" is Al Qaeda.<br /><br />Check out David Brooks' column in today's NYT (and he's no "liberal apologist"). Hoosier in the Heartlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07049824713120857184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-37290120298664458562014-06-06T12:07:06.225-05:002014-06-06T12:07:06.225-05:00The actual network of Taliban that was holding Ber...The actual network of Taliban that was holding Bergdahl captive was a group originally funded by our own CIA so whatever bad the 5 Taliban terrorists did was made possible by our own government. That's a fact you will never see Greg Garrison admit. He believes all of the propaganda about the war on terrorism being waged against real enemies as opposed to straw men set up as an excuse for waging pointless wars to fuel the military/industrial complex.Gary R. Welshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185079937305083438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-83778800284088921882014-06-06T12:00:37.700-05:002014-06-06T12:00:37.700-05:00We have known for quite a while that the Berdahl r...We have known for quite a while that the Berdahl recovery would necessitate a balance between “no American soldier left behind” and “no negotiations with terrorists.” I’m fine with the outcome. Guantanamo is a dinosaur and its prisoners are an administration albatross. Prisoner swaps are humane and I like them. Republicans can jump all over the messy details if they like and make it their new Benghazi; Greg Garrison was wetting himself with excitement this morning over Susan Rice and Hegel saying Bergdahl served with distinction, although Bergdahl’s military record doesn’t reflect any problems with his service and many are now questioning the fairness of the blaming 6 subsequent soldier deaths solely on Bergdahl’s recovery. The entire story isn’t yet known. If he was my son I would willingly give up the Taliban 5 for his return. We’ll probably chip those guys anyway and track them on gps, so I suspect there is more to that story as well. The recovery of Bergdahl heals a mighty wound.local landlordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12703782.post-74992568343827927372014-06-06T09:40:35.713-05:002014-06-06T09:40:35.713-05:00I recently came across an article written by Time ...I recently came across an article written by Time Magazine concerning an upcoming book by Lt. General Daniel P. Bolger (Retired). The name of the book is "Why We Lost A General's Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars." The book is to be published this November. One quote is telling, " “Don’t be so arrogant and think you’re going to reshape the Middle East,” Bolger says. “We’ve basically installed authoritarian dictators.” <br /><br />Bolger further says: "I was in a military that was planning for deployments forever, basically. An all-volunteer force made it easy to commit the military to a long-term operation because they were volunteers.”<br /><br />It will be an interesting read. <br /><br />I have no inside information on Bowe Bergdahl and his motivations. I was a Combat Soldier in Vietnam Draftee Type. If the Army for some reason would have tried to send me back to Vietnam after my tour of duty, I would have crossed the border into Canada. A soldier makes the assessment at some point is my "cause" worth dying for. <br /><br />The fate of Michael Hatings was perhaps a warning bell to another reporter Glen Greenwald who was allied with Eric Snowden is breaking the story on our mass spying by our Government. Floggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10383015097067413086noreply@blogger.com