l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Fellow soldiers call Bowe Bergdahl a deserter, not a hero
By Jake Tapper, CNN
updated 1:20 PM EDT, Mon June 2, 2014
(CNN) -- The sense of pride expressed by officials of the Obama
administration at the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is not shared by
many of those who served with him, veterans and soldiers who call him a
deserter whose "selfish act" ended up costing the lives of better men.
"I was pissed off then, and I am even more so now with everything going on,"
said former Sgt. Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl's platoon when he went
missing on June 30, 2009. "Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war, and
his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him."
Vierkant said Bergdahl needs to not only acknowledge his actions publicly
but face a military trial for desertion under the Uniform Code of Military
Justice.
A reporter asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Sunday whether Bergdahl
had left his post without permission or deserted -- and, if so, whether he
would be punished. Hagel didn't answer directly. "Our first priority is
assuring his well-being and his health and getting him reunited with his
family," he said. "Other circumstances that may develop and questions, those
will be dealt with later."
Bergdahl swap was only seconds long
After 5 years, what's next for Bergdahl?
Following his release from five years of captivity in Afghanistan on
Saturday, Bergdahl was transferred to a military hospital in Germany.
A senior Defense official said Bergdahl's "reintegration process" will
include "time for him to tell his story, decompress, and to reconnect with
his family through telephone calls and video conferences."
Said Bergdahl's former squad leader, Greg Leatherman: "I'm pleased to see
him returned safely. From experience, I hope that he receives adequate
reintegration counseling. I believe that an investigation should take place
as soon as health care professionals deem him fit to endure one."
Another senior Defense official said Bergdahl will not likely face any
punishment. "Five years is enough," he told CNN on condition of anonymity.
Questions surround the circumstances of Bergdahl's disappearance.
Conflicting details have since emerged about how the militants managed to
capture Bergdahl. Published accounts have varied widely, from claims that he
walked off the post to that he was grabbed from a latrine.
According to firsthand accounts from soldiers in his platoon, Bergdahl,
while on guard duty, shed his weapons and walked off the observation post
with nothing more than a compass, a knife, water, a digital camera and a
diary.
At least six soldiers were killed in subsequent searches for Bergdahl, and
many soldiers in his platoon said attacks seemed to increase against the
United States in Paktika province in the days and weeks following his
disappearance.
Many of Bergdahl's fellow troops -- from the seven or so who knew him best
in his squad to the larger group that made up the 1st Battalion, 501st
Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division -- told
CNN that they signed nondisclosure agreements agreeing to never share any
information about Bergdahl's disappearance and the efforts to recapture him.
Some were willing to dismiss that document in hopes that the truth would
come out about a soldier who they now fear is being hailed as a hero, while
the men who lost their lives looking for him are ignored.
Idaho hometown prepares for homecoming
Many are flocking to social media, such as the Facebook page "Bowe Bergdahl
is NOT a hero," where they share stories detailing their resentment. A
number of comments on his battalion's Facebook page prompted the moderator
to ask for more respect to be shown.
Bergdahl's parents emotional address
Exchanged prisoners' Taliban ties
Lawmaker on Bergdahl: Obama violated law
Who did U.S. swap Bergdahl for?
Bergdahl's hometown prepares for arrival
"I challenge any one of you who label him a traitor to spend 5 years in
captivity with the Taliban or Haqqani, then come back and accuse him again.
Whatever his intent when he walked away or was captured, he has more than
paid for it."
E-mails reported by the late Michael Hastings in Rolling Stone in 2012
reveal what Bergdahl's fellow infantrymen learned within days of his
disappearance: He told people that he no longer supported the U.S. effort in
Afghanistan.
"The future is too good to waste on lies," he wrote to his parents. "And
life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to
spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong. I have seen their
ideas and I am ashamed to even be American. The horror of the self-righteous
arrogance that they thrive in. It is all revolting."
Bergdahl wrote to them, "I am sorry for everything. The horror that is
America is disgusting."
CNN has not independently verified the authenticity of the e-mails.
A former member of Bergdahl's squad who has yet to identify his last name
publicly but goes by "Cody" tweeted this weekend that before he disappeared,
Bergdahl once told him, "If deployment is lame, I'm going to get lost in
the Mountains and make my way to China."
Leatherman told CNN that Bergdahl "always looked at the mountains in the
distance and talked of 'seeing what's on the other side.' "
Cody noted in his Twitter recollections a story that others from Blackfoot
Company relay. While soldiers were searching for Bergdahl, a platoon "came
upon some children, they asked him have they seen an American. The children
said 'yes, he was crawling on his belly through weeds and acting funny a
while ago,' " according to Cody.
Bergdahl's parents: 'It isn't over'
The platoon went to the village where the children said the American had
gone. "Villagers said an American did come through the area and was wanting
water and someone who spoke English," Cody shared.
Former Pfc. Jose Baggett, 27, of Chicago, was also in Blackfoot Company and
said he was close to two men "killed because of his (Bergdahl's) actions."
"He walked off," Baggett told CNN. "He left his guard post. Nobody knows if
he defected or he's a traitor or he was kidnapped. What I do know is, he was
there to protect us, and instead he decided to defer from America and go
and do his own thing. I don't know why he decided to do that, but we spend
so much of our resources, and some of those resources were soldiers' lives."
Many soldiers on the ground at the time said insurgents were able to take
advantage of the intense search for Bergdahl.
"A huge thing in-country is not building patterns. Well when you are looking
for a person everyday that creates a pattern. While searching for him,
ambushes and IEDs picked up tremendously. Enemy knew we would be coming.
IEDs started being placed more effectively in the coming weeks. Ambushes
were more calculated, cover and concealment was used," Cody tweeted.
On August 18, 2009, Staff Sgt. Clayton Bowen and Pfc. Morris Walker were
killed by an IED in the search for Bergdahl. Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss was
killed on August 26; 2nd Lt. Darryn Andrews and Pfc. Matthew Michael
Martinek were killed after being attacked in Yahya Khail District on
September 4; Staff Sgt. Michael Murphrey was killed September 5 by an IED at
the Forward Operating Base, Sharana.
Moreover, other operations were put on hold while the search for Bergdahl
was made a top priority, according to officers who served in Afghanistan in
that time. Manpower and assets -- such as scarce surveillance drones and
helicopters -- were redirected to the hunt. The lack of assets is one reason
the closure of a dangerous combat outpost, COP Keating, was delayed. Eight
soldiers were killed at COP Keating before it was ultimately closed.
One soldier with the 509th Regiment, a sister unit of the 501st, told CNN
that after Bergdahl disappeared, the U.S. Army essentially was told to lock
down the entire province of Paktika. He described sitting in the middle of a
field with his platoon, vulnerable, with capabilities and personnel
mismanaged throughout the region. Different platoons ran out of water, food
and ammunition.
Two mortarmen -- Pvt. Aaron Fairbairn and Pfc. Justin Casillas -- were
killed in a July 4, 2009, attack.
"It was unbelievable," the soldier said. "All because of the selfish act of
one person. The amount of animosity (toward him) is nothing like you've ever
seen before."
That Bergdahl was freed in an exchange for five detainees at Guantanamo Bay
is a further source of consternation.
"I don't understand why we're trading prisoners at Gitmo for somebody who
deserted during a time of war, which is an act of treason," Vierkant said. | T*********I
发帖数: 10729 | 2 国会山 — 美国最近从关塔纳摩湾释放五名重要的塔利班人员换取美军伯格达尔获释后
引发很大反响和争议，首先是伯格达尔是战俘还是逃兵，另外美国是不是和恐怖分子谈
判以释放塔利班成员来换取伯格达尔获释。
正在欧洲访问的美国总统奥巴马对此做出了回应。
奥巴马总统星期二解释说美国争取被塔利班扣押5年的美国军人伯格达尔获释是正确的
做法：“不管最后证明当时是什么样的情况，我们解救了一位被扣押的美国军人。”
美国陆军中士鲍·伯格达尔5年前被塔利班抓获。 美国最近释放5名塔利班成员换取他
获释。
伯格达尔的家乡爱达荷州黑利镇已经在准备迎接他回来。
当地居民戴纳.斯各特说：“从他被抓以来这里每个人都在为他担心，我们都支持他。”
但是有关伯格达尔当时被塔利班抓获的背景存在很多疑问。
有美国军人指责伯格达尔是逃兵。
伊文.博伊托中士说：“他擅自离开了军营。事实他在阿富汗背弃了我们自己去投奔塔
利班。”
和他一起在阿富汗服役的军人说，伯格达尔曾经批评美国在阿富汗战争中扮演的角色。
美国国防部并没有下结论说伯格达尔是擅自离开岗位的，不过他是在到达阿富汗几个月
后就失踪；当时他的武器，防弹背心和头盔都留在了军营。
据报道有好几名美军为寻找伯格达尔而丧生。
另外，很多人质疑美国为争取伯格达尔而释放五名被认为是“高风险”的塔利班成员。
国会共和党众议员麦克.桑恩伯里（Rep. Mac Thornberry）说：“我们担忧是否要与恐
怖分子谈判的原则问题。”
很多人担心这次的交换可能导致恐怖组织今后会设法抓获更多的美国军人作为讨价还价
的筹码。 | b*****e
发帖数: 53215 | 3 homeland的现实版？
。”
【在 T*********I 的大作中提到】
: 国会山 — 美国最近从关塔纳摩湾释放五名重要的塔利班人员换取美军伯格达尔获释后
: 引发很大反响和争议，首先是伯格达尔是战俘还是逃兵，另外美国是不是和恐怖分子谈
: 判以释放塔利班成员来换取伯格达尔获释。
: 正在欧洲访问的美国总统奥巴马对此做出了回应。
: 奥巴马总统星期二解释说美国争取被塔利班扣押5年的美国军人伯格达尔获释是正确的
: 做法：“不管最后证明当时是什么样的情况，我们解救了一位被扣押的美国军人。”
: 美国陆军中士鲍·伯格达尔5年前被塔利班抓获。 美国最近释放5名塔利班成员换取他
: 获释。
: 伯格达尔的家乡爱达荷州黑利镇已经在准备迎接他回来。
: 当地居民戴纳.斯各特说：“从他被抓以来这里每个人都在为他担心，我们都支持他。”
| p**j
发帖数: 7063 | 4 如果真是这样，恐怕是侯赛因的阴谋之一。
【在 b*****e 的大作中提到】
: homeland的现实版？
:
: 。”
| T*********I
发帖数: 10729 | 5 Bill说这个士兵逃离，至少6位美军士兵为了找寻他丧生。而且可能这个士兵还可能和
敌方合作。 |
|
