Posted on 06/05/2014 4:11:25 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A former Veterans Affairs official apologized Thursday for suggesting that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl may have left his post in Afghanistan five years ago because he was surrounded by “psychopaths.”
“While I just wanted to make the point that the public should wait before passing judgment, I unfortunately used my own poor judgment in choosing inappropriate language that many view as disparaging to U.S. service members,” Brandon Friedman, who currently serves as a spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told BuzzFeed.
“That was certainly not my intent and I regret making the comments on my personal account in such a way. I apologize to those with whom I work in the Administration, at HUD, and, most importantly, to any service members who took offense,” he said.
Friedman, himself a veteran, sparked outrage Wednesday night after he floated the idea that maybe Bergdahl's comrades pushed him to leave his post.
“Here's the thing about Bergdahl and the Jump-to-Conclusions mats: What if his platoon was long on psychopaths and short on leadership?” Friedman asked in a series of tweets. “What if [Bergdahl] grew disillusioned with what he saw, didn't trust his leadership, and walked off? Legal? No. Worthy of sympathy? Maybe.”
“If that were the case, the soldiers in his platoon would have all the more reason to smear him publicly now,” he added. “Given other examples, it’s not out of the realm of possibility–and more reason to withhold judgment until after an investigation.”
His musings were met with predictable pushback, ultimately forcing him to walk back the claim.
“I'd like to clarify tweets I wrote last night on my personal Twitter account concerning the return of Bowe Bergdahl. First, I do not speak for the Administration on national security issues in any capacity -- public or personal,” he told BuzzFeed. “As a former infantry officer and combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, I have only the highest regard for our servicemen and women. They are my friends, my colleagues, my mentors, my brothers, and sisters.”
A former veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2004, Friedman was vice chairman of the Democratic-aligned organization VoteVets before joining the Obama administration in 2009 as a public affairs officer in the Veterans Affairs Department.
This Veteran Affairs official doesn’t have enough on his plate…….he has to go to this place?
Probably because it’s true. Five of that group died trying to find him. He should be shot. Period. No, wait. Only soldiers should be shot. He should be hanged.
Yep, and dulusions of grandeur, common to many leftist nutcases, that led him to believe that in his small role in the conflict he could cause some change in a direction he thought to be more humane, or whatever such leftists think.
Weird.
I thought Brandon Friedman was a Nazi sympathizer and a pedophile.
He never said any different....
Don’t you mean FLDS polygamist and cannibal? Did he act in a manner reminiscent of Ghenghis Khan while in Iraq I wonder?
His credentials/position accompanied his tweet screed, for heft I’m sure.
FIRE this guy, who is far prouder of his resume than our fighting infantrymen.
Comment/thread BUMP!
Your intent was to lie about servicemen who did serve with honor and dignity. You should be ashamed to call yourself an American. We sure are.
..ashamed to call you an American.
Its’ not likely that a spokesman for HUD or any other dept/agency would be “civil service.” Political appointees have usually had a specific designation, not the same as non-political.
The V.A. has been reputedly one of those terribly run govt agencies for as long as I can remember. Tho I doubt before now, or before Clinton, it was with callous disregard.
This vet is particularly warped, and probably why he fits so well with this Administration. The will stretch, bend, twist, do or say anything to come up with rationalizations for inexcusable behavior. It’s who they are.
He wrote an article for Time Magazine June 3, 2014 and was on Obermann’s show in 2008 representing VoteVets.org (i think that’s the website) complaining about Bush (and McCain).
He sure wears a lot of hats (HUD too).
Freepers would be shocked at how many liberals there are in the US military these days. The military used to be a bastion of conservatism, but it's crawling with libs these days.
The liberal movement has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years, while the conservative movement has all but disappeared as a serious political power.
Why? Because we don't fight like the liberals do. We're wimps.
It pains me to say that, but it's true.
He wears a lot of hats. He wrote an article for Time Magazine June 3rd (about the VA scandal). He works for HUD. He worked for the VA (and cited that as his credit in the Time article he authored). He was vice-chairman for VoteVets.Org and has appeared in 2008 on Oberdork's program representing them and attacking Bush and McCain.
He's a career Democrat activist, sitting away at unelected positions doing his deeds.
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