Thursday Open Thread [6.5.14]
Sorry that I have been absent. My day job demanded some time from me. So sometimes, the hypocrisy is captured so brilliantly that all you have to do is just post pictures!
All I have to say on the whole Bergdahl matter is you get your brother home. No matter what. You don’t leave a brother in enemy hands. Period. If Bergdahl needs to be court martial-ed once he is back here, then so be it. But you get him home. If you in any way disagree, then you do not support the troops. You only support the troops you like, and are willing to abandon those you don’t whenever the mood strikes you. That is unAmerican. Unpatriotic. Unhuman.
As for the prisoner trade, who the fuck cares? They were going to be released anyway now that the Afghan War is over. So that was an easy trade. Israel does it all the time. I dare say if President Obama had turned down this trade, he would now be criticized by the very same people angry at the trade.
And I am very pleased that the President just said “Fuck you” to his critics during a press conference today.
DD – Agreed! The GOP fucknuts have waaaaaay overplayed their hand.
It’s as if they haven’t realized yet, that stuff you say online is archived. I cant even really get outraged by it anymore, because they are SO incompetent and inept at basic communication.
At this point, Obama could cure cancer and the wingnuts would criticism him for causing food shortages due to the increased population. They’ve lost their minds!
The Israelis traded 1027 prisoners directly responsible for 569 Israeli deaths to Hamas for Gilad Shalit.
In addition, Israel released 20 Palestinian women in exchange for a video of Shalit while he was a prisoner.
Let those numbers sink in.
Obama traded 5 prisoners. That is a 99.5% discount on the Israeli deal.
I am sick and tired of treating these Taliban and al Qaeda detainees like they are some sort of super-villains like Lex Luthor.
Obama made the right move for the right reason.
Much, much better to see a traitor brought back than an innocent soldier left behind. Given that, for the moment, Bergdahl’s status as traitor or captured soldier is uncertain, doing anything else was unconsoniable.
While the wingnut branch of the GOP is howling, they aren’t the only ones. Democrats are, at the least, upset with how President handled the process. See the NYT’s article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/world/asia/bowe-bergdahl-case-shakes-democrats-confidence-in-administration.html
The thirty day notice requirement, as I recall, was a reaction to the administration’s suggestion that Guantanamo Bay detainees would be transferred to New York City for prosecution. There was a blood curdling cry at the prospect of having to provide for security, etc. if the detainees were transferred and tried. Hence, the law was passed.
In the present context, however, I am not sure the 30 day law is constitutional in this context as it usurps the President’s constitutional authority a Commander-in-Chief.
As a lawyer, I would argue that the President had already satisfied the 30 day requirement in the law. Congress has been aware of this proposed exchange for two years! John McCain himself said in February that he would be in favor of prisoner exchange.
And these anonymous Democrats in the NYT can go fuck themselves. Little cowards the lot of them.
I wonder if Congress hadn’t knee-jerked themselves into their irrational position on closing Gitmo, if we’d be in this position. The DOJ had a list someplace of the US convictions on terrorism, which had a few hundred people convicted. The DOD has how many convicted under their military tribunals? It isn’t many. If the Gitmo detainees had been tried and convicted in US courts, I wonder if they’d be available to the Commander in Chief for a trade?
Still. I’m appalled at the wingnut response to this. The idea that We All Come Home is a key bit of military culture and used to be one of those American Exceptionalism ideas. I don’t know if this kid was in the wrong leaving his base, but he should be home where US justice can deal with it.
More hypocrisy: http://mashable.com/2014/06/04/politicians-delete-bowe-bergdahl-tweets/
“key bit of military culture”
Right. Given the number of people within the Obama administration clown car that were you know, like actually in the military, and therefore the total lack of understanding of military culture, it’s not surprising that this has turned into a disaster for the Community Organizer in Chief.
Susan Rice as National Security Adviser. Is it even possible to take this adminstration seriously anymore?
Oh look, its our first unpatriotic hater of the military, formerly known as a Republican. Go to Hell, abc.