Report: Bergdahl Won't Speak To His Parents

[DonViejo]

Source: TPM

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has refused communication with his family since being freed from Taliban captivity, an unnamed Army official told the Wall Street Journal.

The official said Bergdahl hasn't seen or spoken to his parents since he was released as part of a prisoner swap on the final day of May, ending five years of captivity that began when the soldier wandered off his post in Afghanistan in June of 2009. Officials aren't sure what caused the tension between Bergdahl and his parents.

The initial goodwill surrounding Bergdahl's release quickly gave way to scrutiny of the prisoner exchange that secured the soldier's freedom, the circumstances of the his disappearance and even the worldview his father, Bob.

Republicans assailed President Obama for skirting a law that required the administration to inform Congress of the swap 30 days in advance, as well as for the national security implications of releasing five Taliban figures from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Bergdahl.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bowe-bergdahl-not-speaking-parents

[mopinko]

1. oh man.

those poor people. i cant even imagine.

[ladjf]

2. You know, some things are just private. nt

[davidpdx]

5. Yes, I agree

But I do wonder what is going on between them. I'm sure his family is getting a lot of shit about his release.

[TwilightGardener]

3. They must be heartbroken--but, they know he's safe now, and if they're patient,

he may want contact with them again. My belief is that he was already emotionally or mentally disturbed before he disappeared (lots of evidence of that already public), and five years with the Taliban just messed him up even more. The scars aren't always physical.

[murielm99]

9. Maybe he had a poor relationship with his parents to begin with.

And his dad went off the deep end during his son's captivity, trying to understand the captors to the point of embracing some of their cultural trappings.

Think about it: if anyone here was emotionally scarred by their parents, they know what I mean. If I was jailed or captive for any reason, I would want to see my husband and my adult children first. After I became stronger, I might want to see my parents under controlled circumstances, provided I set the terms. My parents left all their children emotionally scarred. What do we really know about this poor guy's family?

[hamsterjill]

10. This is what I've been thinking as well.

Perhaps it would be cathartic for the parents, but perhaps not for the son, to communicate at this point.

I could imagine a situation where a parent and child were estranged, then if the child were injured or in this case captured as a prisoner of war, that the parent might be carrying enough guilt to do the things like what that Mr. Bergdahl did (i.e., learn the language, etc.). I do not mean that as a slight against the father either. We simply don't know the whole story.

It's too bad that this family - the whole of it - hasn't been allowed the privacy it needs to get through this without snooping media trying to stir things up.

[murielm99]

11. I think you understand this.

And it is not that I don't feel anything for these parents. Maybe they need to be counseled as well, and BEFORE they see their son. Maybe the military should be helping them with this aspect of Bergdahl's reentry to our society.

[TwilightGardener]

12. He seemed pretty close with them, judging by the influence they obviously

had on his thinking and behavior before he joined the army (I mean, they home-schooled him and supported his goofier decisions like joining the French foreign legion), and also by his correspondence with them. That said, I know of which you speak in terms of parent/child relationships and how fraught they can be. I was not really emotionally close to my own parents anymore by my teen years, though we got along pretty well once I was an adult, married and with my own family. Bergdahl doesn't seem to have anybody else, though, and I would think he needs understanding and support from people that love him. Maybe in time.

[IrishAyes]

14. It's my understanding that he was discharged from the Navy for

emotional issues. The Army never should've let him enlist in the first place, but they had their precious surge to man. Nobody should've been surprised by what eventually happened.

[TwilightGardener]

20. Think it was Coast Guard--he couldn't mentally or emotionally make it thru

Coast Guard basic training, washed out after 20 days for psych reasons. So the Army ignores that and puts him on the front lines of combat. The Army endangered him and the people he served with--if anybody's angry about the Bergdahl situation, they should be angry at those responsible for putting him in Afghanistan, instead of a mere PFC with mental problems who was already punished with 5 years in captivity.

[IrishAyes]

22. You could be right about the branch of service - I wasn't sure myself.

But we're both more than right about the indefensibility of returning him to active duty. No shame in a valid psych discharge, but infamy for those who ignored his condition. They're the ones at fault here.

[Marrah_G]

6. The poor guy

He must be a mess.

[4Q2u2]

7. Maybe sick of BS

He could be disillusioned by BS his dad shoveled into his head all those years. While in captivity he found out the truth.
I'm sure that in those years all that he thought he knew is up for questioning. Seems like he is still trying to find himself.

[TygrBright]

8. He may be trying to protect them. n/t

[IrishAyes]

18. That, too. Perhaps even that most of all.

His dad has been the subject of more than a few death threats himself. So much in life is not what it seems on the surface.

(whew! caught my own typo just now. Grammar nazi bites the dust yet again.)

[burnsei sensei]

13. I hope that he will shake off the fetters

he's been dealing with, speak for himself, and find both true freedom and happiness.

[treestar]

15. Sad, hopefully it will end well for them all

[IrishAyes]

19. My prayer as well.

[Nine]

16. Thanks for releasing private patient info, WSJ.

The family has put sharp restrictions on what information can be released about Sgt. Bergdahl’s condition and has asked the military not to give updates about communication between him and his family, according to another Army official.

Bergdahl is not just a soldier, he's a patient. This information is part of his private medical record.

[madokie]

17. I question if the story is even true

coming from where it came and all

[IrishAyes]

21. Yet another reasonable possibility. There's way too much we don't

know (maybe shouldn't) to go making assumptions and judgments.