US Soldier captured in Afghanistan

[JMA]

The Bergdahl case is obviously too hot for the US military to handle. Can it be anticipated to fizzle out like the Garwood matter back then?

I'm in no way excusing Bergdahl's behavior but I firmly think that the causes are more complex than the competing media narratives of his alleged Taliban sympathies or his mental state.

[carl]

JMA:

Yeah it will fizzle out. The Army will follow the standard DC inside the beltway drill. They will withhold information of all types and keep the guy from talking for months and months and maybe years. Then they will let out only what they have to and only a tiny bit at a time. The idea is it will be perceived as old news by the time it all gets out and nobody will pay attention.

The drill works very well.

[JMA]

JMA:

Yeah it will fizzle out. The Army will follow the standard DC inside the beltway drill. They will withhold information of all types and keep the guy from talking for months and months and maybe years. Then they will let out only what they have to and only a tiny bit at a time. The idea is it will be perceived as old news by the time it all gets out and nobody will pay attention.

The drill works very well.

And you guys - the voters - have been conditioned to just accept this stuff without even a whimper?

Perhaps there is more than a grain of truth in James Bovard's book: Attention Deficit Democracy

Delusions about democracy are subverting peace and freedom. The American system of government is collapsing thanks to ignorant citizens, lying politicians, and a government leashed neither by law nor Constitution. While presidents and pundits harp on democracy’s inevitable spread around the world, it is perishing at home.

[carl]

And you guys - the voters - have been conditioned to just accept this stuff without even a whimper?

Perhaps there is more than a grain of truth in James Bovard's book: Attention Deficit Democracy

Again I can't find any strong argument to make against what you say. It is happening.

I wonder if the system that developed during a time when the printed word was the only means of mass communication, and entertainment was only to be found by being an eyeballs on spectator, can survive television, both broadcast and cable fed. In the old days people were forced to read about politics and thereby forced to think some about it. Politics was entertainment to a large extent too because there weren't many other sources of diversion. Nowadays you can lose yourself in diverting media and never come out. The old system based upon the printed word almost forced the average guy to pay attention, the new electronic age allows the average man to be frivolous and opens the door that much wider to the schemers.

We may have to make adjustments, say prohibiting any political advertisement on tv or radio. Prohibit any tv news coverage of political races. Things like that are just off the top of my head ideas but we must do something to get the average guy back into the game.

[WGEwald]

Yes. [Manning] was reportedly an odd-ball in his own unit. His unit had lax security oversight. And according to his account, he was disillusioned with the war. In these conditions, unpredictable things happen. Why does one person steal documents in the hopes of exposing his perception of the truth, another walk of a FOB, another kill himself or kill others? Whatever outlet these individuals choose, many of the structural problems and enablers remain the same because they are frequently left unaddressed.

My point would be that Manning did not leave his duty station, did he? My belief is he had too much time on his hands (ASAS ) and access which he did not need. His security manager must have been asleep. His immediate supervisor was disciplined, I believe. His case is quite distinct from Bergdahl, I think.

[WGEwald]

The bold part reminds of the film 'A Few Good Men'.

I would not be surprised if Hollywood is working on "The Bowe Bergdahl Story" with Sean Penn cast as "Taliban Bob" Bergdahl.

[WGEwald]

Army Clears Bergdahl of Any Misconduct During Captivity

http://www.thewire.com/national/2014...tivity/373485/

[carl]

JMA:

Yeah it will fizzle out. The Army will follow the standard DC inside the beltway drill. They will withhold information of all types and keep the guy from talking for months and months and maybe years. Then they will let out only what they have to and only a tiny bit at a time. The idea is it will be perceived as old news by the time it all gets out and nobody will pay attention.

The drill works very well.

Army Clears Bergdahl of Any Misconduct During Captivity

http://www.thewire.com/national/2014...tivity/373485/

Yep, the drill is in full swing and being carried out in plain view. The Army just let out the first tiny bit of info, that he is cleared of misconduct "during captivity". We still haven't heard from him, even his parents haven't heard from him so he is basically being held incommunicado.

If only our big military could fight as well as it can spin.

[Wyatt]

Hopefully he gets charged with desertion. I doubt there were many similarities between himself and Col Rowe during his time as a pow

[jcustis]

Perhaps a reminder is in order.

Bergdahl is a grown adult male. He isn't a dependent of his parents. That stopped years ago when he raised his right hand and stated an oath.

Bergdahl's parents are his next of kin and really nothing more, in the strict sense of many things military, like the UCMJ, dependency regulations, etc.

It for sure can be easy to look at this and go, "Wow, why haven't his parents been linked up with him...why isn't he home...why...?"

The US military does its best to support the next of kin in cases of injury and death, and yes, POW cases. Bergdahl's case is not black and white, and so until the Army gets its run at Bergdahl to determine what happened, his parents can damn wait.

[JMA]

Another blast from the past...

Marine who disappeared in Iraq in 2004 is back in US custody

A Marine who was declared a deserter nearly 10 years ago after disappearing in Iraq and then returning to the U.S. claiming he had been kidnapped, only to disappear again, is back in U.S. custody, officials said Sunday.

[carl]

Perhaps a reminder is in order.

Bergdahl is a grown adult male. He isn't a dependent of his parents. That stopped years ago when he raised his right hand and stated an oath.

Bergdahl's parents are his next of kin and really nothing more, in the strict sense of many things military, like the UCMJ, dependency regulations, etc.

It for sure can be easy to look at this and go, "Wow, why haven't his parents been linked up with him...why isn't he home...why...?"

The US military does its best to support the next of kin in cases of injury and death, and yes, POW cases. Bergdahl's case is not black and white, and so until the Army gets its run at Bergdahl to determine what happened, his parents can damn wait.

That could all be true, but in my view it falls into the category of leaning over backwards, carnival sideshow backwards, to find a not suspicious explanation to what has gone on. It just isn't normal that a 25 year old gone from home for 5 years under very stressful circumstances doesn't want to contact his relations. And given our media culture, it just isn't normal that he has spoken to nobody outside the Army at all as far as I know. So given all this, and given the Tillman and Lynch cases, I figure the Army is playing games.

[WGEwald]

http://nypost.com/2014/07/10/captivi...nder-surfaces/

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for nearly five years, is seen in a new image mugging for a picture with a jolly jihadi who #has his arm resting casually on Bergdahl’s shoulder.