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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Opinionated Bitch – The Swiftboating of An American Prisoner of War
Please, no flack about the word 'bitch'; they use it, and this article is spot-on, imo.
http://herewomentalk.com/the-opinionated-bitch-the-swiftboating-of-an-american-prisoner-of-war
The Opinionated Bitch The Swiftboating of An American Prisoner of War
06/03/14
Carol Baker
In 2004, Secretary of State John Kerry was a candidate for President of the United States. A group calling themselves Swift Vets and POWs for Truth waged a now discredited vicious campaign against then candidate Kerry to attack his military and service record in Viet Nam. The group claimed John Kerry inflated his role in the military and was a traitor to his country for his anti-war activities upon returning home. These were particularly personal attacks upon his character and after Kerry lost the presidency, it turns out none of those things for which he was accused were true. In spite of the fact that the group has been resoundingly discredited for their outright lies, the falsehoods they told remain deep in the psyche of the rabid Right Wingnuts as fact. To wit; the term swiftboating has come to mean an untrue or unfair political attack or smear campaign.
And thats precisely whats happening to Bowe Bergdahl, the last American POW to be rescued from Afghanistan after 5 long years in captivity the Swiftboating of Bowe Bergdahl has begun in earnest.
snip//
The scorching hypocrisy of the Right Wing pundits can be felt across the globe. We dont have to like these facts, but rewriting history because of the hatred toward President Obama doesnt fly. The Right will continue to be in full Hair On Fire Mode for matters of convenience, never based on fact and you can bet responsibility for the next American taken anywhere in the world will be blamed on President Obama, despite the fact our country has a long history of negotiating with terrorists. And lets not forget the Geneva Convention. Section 11, Article 118 states all prisoners must be released and repatriated at the cessation of war. Given that the war will be officially over in a matter of months, it was merely a matter of a short time before they would have to be released anyway. The war is effectively over, so suck it up, Buttercup.
If were going to have a moral debate on whether or not we ever leave a soldier behind, by all means, lets have it now and lets have it long and loud. Lets assure anyone signing the contract to serve our country that if theyre taken prisoner, according to Fox News, you should be tried in the court of public opinion first and if youre not deemed worthy of saving, prepare to spend the last day of your life in the hands of your captors as a prisoner of war. Lets see how many people are willing to sign on the dotted line given that little salvo the next time this country is lied to about weapons of mass destruction being in a country that had nothing whatsoever to do with the 9/11 attacks.
I am in no position to know what happened with this soldier and frankly, neither is anyone else. Its time for the disgusting speculation on the part of the press to end immediately too. Michael Hastings was a real journalist who did his job. The beltway media and cable news are merely parroting press releases delivered from the GOP public relations firm.
This is America. We do not under any circumstances leave a soldier behind on the battlefield. If Bowe Bergdahl did something wrong, its up to a military tribunal to determine the facts and adjudicate the case. Not me. Not you. Certainly not Fox News.
Were Americans. Its time to start acting like it.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)character assassination, this hate of Obama, when will we?
The scope of animosity toward the President is terrorism, and cancelling the home town parade is the result of fear they generate on purpose.
Mr.Bill
(24,330 posts)their objective is to make us fear ever voting for a black person again. And possibly a woman. They will attach Hillary Clinton in the same manner the whole time she is in office.
Tumbulu
(6,292 posts)and has only amplified over the years.... I am very sad to be witnessing this downward spiral.
El Shaman
(583 posts)lumpy
(13,704 posts)delrem
(9,688 posts)gitmo is just one place of many. Things like that don't happen by accident, esp. when they happen so smoothly. Systems like that develop over years.
Maybe the communities that those prisoners come from don't like to "leave a soldier behind on the battlefield" either. Even when they aren't actually soldiers. Even when the sadists holding them prisoner don't bother to explain why, and prove their case.
The Orwellian doublespeak and sick neologisms used to describe the captives at gitmo as somehow beyond the pale of even the language of Nurenburg was and is the most insidious legacy of the criminal PNAC enterprise. It's too bad that even now the facilitators of PNAC plans are doing their dirty work in Syria, Ukraine, Honduras, and throughout the world. It's too bad that there's been no change.
Blanks
(4,835 posts)I'd probably capture a soldier in the hopes of trading to get them back down the line.
I'm not saying that's what happened, but it makes sense to me.
Bandit
(21,475 posts)Capturing enemy soldiers is and has been a part of war. Maybe you can use the captive for propaganda or trade. With McCain they got both.With Bergdahl they only got a trade..
Remember Pat Tillman? The original story was false, yet his platoon went along with it. The tillman family had to dig deep to get at the truth. You would think after that, cooler heads would prevail. I would have voted to exchange 5 useless politicians to be exchanged for this kid, but Afghanistan would likely refuse to take them.
Blanks
(4,835 posts)I'd guess they were looking for particular folks to trade.
They'd never have accepted Issa, Cruz Rand Paul etc. It probably still would have been worth a try.
Uncle Joe
(58,424 posts)Thanks for the thread, babylonsister.
Suich
(10,642 posts)Thanks!!!
The Wizard
(12,549 posts)the media carried the ads as news and thus gave the Republicans and Bush free smear job and hackery. When people saw the ads as news they falsely believed them to be legitimate news. As the media played a major role in defeating Al Gore they did the same to Kerry.
The concept of the liberal media is propaganda that would make Goebbels blush. .
ucrdem
(15,512 posts)Like the good little water carriers they are.
frylock
(34,825 posts)they grew tired of me asking why they were running free political ads. it wasn't just clips, but the whole damn ad they would run, 3 or 4 times a day, under the guise of "breaking news."
newthinking
(3,982 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Cha
(297,692 posts)GOP Bergdahl attack is about Erasing Obamas National Security Creds
TOD
catbyte
(34,454 posts)baggers cheered because that was President Obama's home town. What kind of asshole does that? An unpatriotic, un-American, Republican asshole, I guess. Just the ones spewing poison now.
xocet
(3,873 posts)WHEN CRABS ROAR
(3,813 posts)experts opinions is based on facts, not one, that's because there isn't any yet.
nikto
(3,284 posts)The GOP:
Totally corrupt,
and proud of it.