Bowe Bergdahl, U.S. soldier held by Taliban, was "ashamed to be American," emails show

CBS News ^

[bryan999]

(AP) WASHINGTON - Emails an American soldier reportedly sent to his parents before he was captured by the Taliban three years ago suggest he was disillusioned and considering deserting.

Bowe Bergdahl told his parents he was "ashamed to even be American" and was disgusted with the U.S. mission in Afghanistan and with the Army, according to emails quoted in Rolling Stone magazine.

Bergdahl, a 26-year-old Army sergeant from Hailey, Idaho, was taken prisoner on June 30, 2009, in Afghanistan.

The military has never detailed circumstances of his disappearance or capture, and he is not classified as a deserter. He was initially listed as "duty status unknown" and is now considered "missing-captured." He is the only U.S. prisoner of war from the Afghanistan conflict, and U.S. officials say they are actively trying to free him.

[DouglasKC]

I'm not sure what exactly the law requires, but since there was never a formal declaration of war in Afghanistan I'm not sure any laws would apply. I saw this because I don't know if this dude could even be legally considered a "prisoner of war" anyway.

War or not doesn't matter....the law was about releasing prisoners from Gitmo.....he broke the law, period.

[TexasCajun]

"I didn't know he was a deserter and traitor till I read about in news reports this weekend"

And this swap had nothing to do with Jay Carney resigning.

[huldah1776]

here is a link to an article claiming it came from a facebook page...I’ll tell you one thing, if he enabled the taliban to take down ONE American, we lost 4 in my son’s unit, he should be glad I won’t be on his jury.

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/display.aspx?p=50217394&pg=4

[huldah1776]

2012: “Bergdahl is the subject of a proposed prisoner swap in which he would be traded for five Taliban adherents imprisoned by the United States at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Taliban have walked away from the deal and larger negotiations with the United States, but the Obama administration is still pushing a negotiated settlement between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan.”

Behind the scenes for a long time. I bet this administration is trying to negotiate with the Taliban because the presidential change in Afghanistan.

http://khmetikan.com/news/bowe-bergdahl-u-s-soldier-held-by-taliban-was-ashamed-to-be-american/

[The Antiyuppie]

“Once again ZERO has set it up, so anybody that disagrees with his decision is UN American. “

Notice how the parents got paraded out ASAP. So, you if you are against this decision, you are against families and motherhood. In fact, you are inhuman. Brilliant, actually.

[windcliff]

I agree and Obama is itching to let out more.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

What he should have done is said “Sure we’ll exchange you 5 for 1” Then as soon as they got Bowe back, they should have executed all 5 of those terrorists. That’s how you fight a war and how you deal with terrorists - NO MERCY, make them think twice about kidnapping another vet again. But instead the opposite is going to happen, they’re going to kidnap more, probably even US citizens because now thanks to this puke in the White House the US now makes deals with terrorists.

[AmusedBystander]

"I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” B. Hussein Obama

Need we know more?

[Theoria]

Well said. Once you enter the rabbit hole, there are no boundaries.

Now, it will be interesting how Congress takes this. Some cry for a all powerful President, but in reality, Congress has more power and is control of the military.

[jch10]

Well, no wonder we had to get him out! He is the voice of America./s

[Alberta's Child]

It's also worth noting that the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan had lasted longer than the U.S. involvement in World War I, World War II and Korea combined by the time this guy was captured five years ago.

And now we have a jug-eared Muslim for a president, and this guy's father is a dude who is now sporting an Amish/al-Qaeda/ZZ Top look while posting Twitter posts in Arabic that are sympathetic to his son's captors.

Wake me up when any of this is supposed to make sense.

[twister881]

Agree, Americans now are targets for kidnappers. I see it here on the U.S-Mexico border with the drug gangs and corrupt police & military. Used to be a time when nobody dared to f*** with Americans, at home or abroad. We deserve a POTUS & an adminsistration that will reinstitute that policy. Punitive measures, military, economic, diplomatic, must be used frequently. A lot more stick, far less carrot. Don’t give a s*** about being liked; America is to be respected & feared.

[Repeat Offender]

We deserve a POTUS & an adminsistration that will reinstitute that policy.

The people "deserve" exactly the POS they voted for.

It's like Solzenhenitsyn said when talking about Russian citizens in the USSR - they didn't love freedom enough, and truly and totally deserved everything that happened next.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[Liberty Valance]

Starting Friday morning, this has been the weekend news dump to end all news dumps of the new century. We have been screwed, blued and tattooed.

[dfwgator]

Sometimes I think how German people in 1933 must have felt, as Hitler was step by step gaining power, knowing that no matter what they knew about the truth, it wasn’t going to matter anymore. Everyone around them was being manipulated to accept the new order. That’s what America feels like today....Nothing we do matters, the New Order won’t let anything stand in their way.

[Liberty Valance]

And this week we will be inundated with photos of our patriotic CiC commemorating the US soldiers who lost their lives on D-Day in France. The irony is stifling.