Why I am back to blogging...
The short answer, it is therapeutic. 99.9% of the world does not care for my opinion on any topic I have ever written. Truth is this blog is not written for everyone else. It is written for me to say what is on my mind and document my thoughts at a given time given the conditions around me. Perhaps it will mean something to someone out there reading it once in a while. I took a year off, but I feel like there is so much going on that I want to talk about and this is the most effective form of release...so here we go!
My opinions on Bergdahl...
My conservative friends call me liberal. My liberal friends call me conservative. I guess in the end that makes me moderate. But that is right where I am happy to be. So I am not surprised when the political divide is more clear than ever on the Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl debate.
I break this whole issue down into 3 points.
1. I don't blame President Obama for making a deal because it had to be done before we pull out of Afghanistan. Regardless of the nature of his capture, he IS an American. He IS a service member, and he WAS a POW. It has been a bedrock principal of America since the Spanish American War to never leave POW's behind. To this day our government is committed to investigating, releasing, and bringing home POW/MIA personnel. There are still scores of POW/MIA from Vietnam and Korea and there is still an agency working to resolve those cases. If we really are leaving Afghanistan later this year then we have absolutely no leverage for bargaining at that time, so now is the time to make a deal for his release.
For everyone that says "America does not negotiate with terrorists" you are wrong. America has negotiated with Russian, Iranian, Somalian and countless other nation's terrorists over the last 40 years. It might be a great line in a movie, but it is just not true. And while we're at it dont forget that the Taliban was the ruling authority in Afghanistan at the time the war began. Since 2002 there has bee constant communication between the United States Government and the Taliban. For the record that covers both the Bush and Obama administrations.
What does bother me about the President Obama's actions is the lack of congressional consent to the POW exchange. By law the president can release prisoners or execute exchanges. However, he must inform congress 30 days before the exchange is made. It does bother me that the proper channels were not completely used. That being said, 5 to 1 is a reasonable exchange given he was our singular POW and as a result draws significantly more media attention. Bowe Bergdahl was a household name for the last 4 years and as a result there was never going to be favorable terms for his release. For all the things President Obama has done wrong in the last 6 years, this is hardly the worst of them. In my opinion this is not even in the top 5 of them.
2. I believe if Bowe Bergdahl did indeed desert his unit he should be lined up against a wall and shot. Why? Because that is the legal punishment for desertion. What many civilians do not understand is there is a separate set of laws that govern military personnel of all branches. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) governs everything we do on and off the battlefield.
Even though it is widely assumed that he deserted his unit he is still an American and therefore is entitled to appropriate due process. Under the UCMJ there will be an investigation into his case. If found guilty, appropriate punishments will be levied. Our American system is not perfect, but regardless of what he did he is still entitled to that process. If the allegations are true then it is extremely sad that many died attempting to rescue him. However this does not mean he should not have this opportunity. It sucks, but it is the law of our land and it is the reason our imperfect system has stood the test of time.
3. Bob Bergdahl, Bowe's dad, is a complete nut. It sounds like his dad has developed Stockholm Syndrome, not his son. Either way, it sounds like he has turned into a pro Taliban supporter to leverage his son's release on his own. This could end up hurting his son at trial as it will skew his innocence as his dad spouting off in Pashto (afghan language) and tweeting to Taliban leaders will only make his case of innocence harder to prove.
One Week Until the World Cup!
My favorite international sporting event is the World Cup. I love the Olympics, but they have become so corporate and commercialized. The World Cup still remains pure sports. Yes the bidding process for 2018/2022 is tainted with corruption at all levels, but when all that crap is over the game on the field and the billions of people watching around the world is still the exact same as it was at the first event in 1930.
I will be watching all the matches at Doyles in Tacoma and Fuel in Seattle. My favorite world cup memories from 2010 were watching the US matches at the Roadhouse Pub in East Lansing, MI. I will go into much more detail about my World Cup predictions in a later post.
Until next time...
Chris
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