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Taliban Release Video Of Bergdahl Exchange
Whether or not Obama made a huge political gaffe by secretly arranging the Qatar-mediated exchange of Bowe Bergdahl, who some 16,000 Americans have petitioned should be court-martialed for walking away from his post in 2009, for 5 Taliban leaders remains to be seen. To be sure republicans have jumped on the blunder and especially the hawks within the GOP are now "tag-teaming" the issues of Benghazi and Bergdahl with the intent of painting will Obama "as an appeaser, and a negotiator-with-terrorists" as The Nation reports. In any case, if Obama was hoping to use the Bergdahl exchange as a marker of successful foreign policy, he is suddenly caught flat-footed.
What won't help the president's case of promptly sweeping this latest scandal under the rug, is a clip such as this one, released earlier today by the Taliban showing the handover of the prisoner of war to US forces.
The video, as the WSJ reports, shows Sgt. Bergdahl with a shaved head and no eyebrows. He is wearing Afghan clothing, looking gaunt and dazed, rapidly blinking his eyes. In the footage, Sgt. Bergdahl sits in a white Taliban pickup truck in an open field, as a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter prepares to land.
In the video, an Afghan insurgent, his face hidden by a scarf, tells Sgt. Bergdahl menacingly in Pashto moments before the release: "Don't come back to Afghanistan. Next time we catch you, you won't leave here alive." Armed insurgents surrounding the pickup truck laugh as Sgt. Bergdahl bows his head, looking confused and scared.
"Long live the holy warriors of Afghanistan! Long live the great holy warrior and the leader of the believers, Mullah Mohammad Omar !" the insurgents chant, referring to the Taliban leader who has eluded U.S. capture since 2001.
The video released earlier today is shown below:
As the WSJ adds, the footage of Taliban leaders arriving in Qatar is in stark contrast to the images of Sgt. Bergdahl's release. In Qatar, the former Guantanamo detainees are seen in crisp, clean clothing, embracing Taliban officials on the side of a road and driving in a convoy of new SUVs, including a Porsche. Sgt. Bergdahl, in contrast, appears guarded and scared, his thin frame surrounded by heavily armed insurgents.
The released former Guantanamo detainees include the pre-2001 Taliban regime's deputy minister of intelligence, Mohammed Fazl, and deputy minister of defense, Abdul Haq Wasiq.
Who precisely did Afghanistan get in exchange for Bergdahl? The following 5 individuals:
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the Us is still spending pretty much as the rest of the world combined!
I find it hard to get worked up over this when I'm still depressed from the Blackhawks losing game 7 at home.
Interesting to note:
- According to some reports from [US soldiers] Bowe was actually looking for Taliban after leaving the base.
- Taliban claimed Bowe converted and helped them with IED's and ambushes.
- US Soldiers noticed an uptick of of IEDs and ambushes shortly after his departure.
- Bowe is the only 'prisoner' to have been left alive in Taliban 'captivity'
If the conclusion drawn from the above observations is correct, Obama exhanged 5 top brass Taliban for a traitor who stopped being useful to Taliban. Double win for Taliban.
Perphaps Chinese general is right - US President has an erectile dysfanction Foreign Policy. That is the best case scenario.
The worst would be that his GOP critics are correct - Treason.
It would be treason if he were actually an American. He is selling us out though. And he's not alone. We're being nailed and keep handing them the nail gun. Go figure.
No one can be this incompetent. I've been Obama's harshest critic for a long while on here as many will know and even I'm surprised at his brazen disregard for the law. Impeachment of Obama will go no where. 2/3 majority of the Senate is impossible. Certainly something is really wrong with him and I fear the worst is yet to come. He actually thought America would cheer this decision. Holder is now looking for terrorist in this country. You know people like myself who would dare call him what he is which is an asshole Marxist.
"If the conclusion drawn from the above observations is correct, Obama exhanged 5 top brass Taliban for a traitor who stopped being useful to Taliban. Double win for Taliban."
Another way to look at it is that we exchanged 5 Taliban who had been long tapped-out for useful info, and got a "traitor" who has fresher information from actually living among them for the past 5 years...
There few reasons to expect help against Taliban from someone who hates the USA enough to defect to enemies and [if reports are correct] labored with them to kill US soldiers.
For all of his many, many flaws at least Obama has not rushed into war. Whether he is planning to do so or whether he is fighting elements in the government who want to I don't know, time will tell. I dislike him in soooo many ways that it is hard for me to withhold judgement but for now at least we are not in Syria (very much) and we haven't sailed a fleet into the Black Sea to confront Russia.
He's teeing everything up for Hitlery after she's elected.
LOL "...not rushed into war." Put down the malt liquor.
Lay off the Blotter, too, dude.
We Dont Negotiate With Terrorist!
We supply them with finance, weapons and intelligence.
"We Don’t Negotiate With Terrorist[s]!"
The true message is:
They don't negotiate with people that resist their criminality--Waco, 1993.
However, they do negotiate with those that further their criminality--Afghanistan, 2014.
"My guillotine won't negotiate with Article 3, Section 3 criminals."
So we have the technology to locate and blow the fuck out of a gnat hanging out on an ants ass from 1/2 a world away, yet we can't locate a bunch of illiterate homeless people driving around in an a 1997 Nissan fucking pick up truck.
Are you fucking kidding me? There is no war on terror. That is a fucking joke. These mother fuckers have the technology available in fucking WW II or Korea at best. These people are kept alive so the military complex can continue to be enriched. Marketing, nothing more than fucking marketing...
FUCK YOU YOU MOTHER FUCKING SCUM BASTARDS! IT'S ALL A FUCKING LIE!
They knew exactly where he was. Didn't want to run a risk of loosing any more men trying to rescu him, once they determined he was a deserter and a possible Taliban collaborator.
Sgt. Bergdahl - the only known POW in Afghanistan.
lol
They show the part where they are doubled over in laughter.
Just when it seemed bad enough:
http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/obama-trades-all-gitmo-detainees-...
Have the Taliban perfected cloning?
Rip USA! What a fucking moran pansy ass president! Any of you who voted for this pussy should have their head examined!!!
I cant fucking watch this shit!
I'll be downvoted for sure, but I'll say this anyway.
Perhaps it would be better if you all stopped staking firm positions on this issue right now. We DON'T know all the facts yet, and those who stake their positions too soon often find themselves looking foolish later.
Has it occurred to anyone that there MIGHT be a little more to this than meets the eye?
He has been held for 5 years...why suddenly now was he 'rescued'? I can't help but note that the midterms are coming up, and the timing seems very convenient...whatever this guy has to say, we'll probably start hearing about it in a few months...just in time for election day.
You SHOULD be asking what information this guy has, and how it could possibly benefit the administration. Because despite all the name-calling about Obama, the man is NOT stupid.
Forget that at your own peril...but it is the truth. You don't have to LIKE Obama, but to brush him off as an idiot is exactly why the GOP has lost to him twice...
Barry's a cynical arsehole.
GOP lost, LOL. Voting is a waste of time. Hitlery is the next stooge. You watch.
I'll reply instead of down voting like an anonymous wuss. I think this was done to overtake the media blitz from the VA scandal and as Dewey Cheatum Howe pontificated, it was done cuz all info was gleaned from the five and they want to see what Bowe has to offer. That being said, it was done illegally and Bowe is a deserter from what I have read. I agree in not jumping to conclusions, but there is a lot of info out there. Eight people died looking for Bowe and this showcases the shit show we call "War on Terra" and our disintegrating Foreign Policy,
Could be...could be...I'm just very hesitant to form my opinion at this stage. If the past few years have taught me anything, they've taught me not to put too much stake in how something LOOKS, at least before the hard facts start coming out.
I feel as though I am being manipulated into seeing things a certain way, and that raises immediate red flags...
The only positive this release may generate is an internal Taliban battle for supremacy between whomever is in the positions these guys vacated. Don't expect much as I suspect the Taliban will dust these fellows off if they try to upset the current food chain in the Taliban.
They've been out of the loop for many years...I doubt they will be fully trusted by their friends over there for awhile. Anyone who thinks they will just go right back to what they were doing is not thinking realistically...
Even the Taliban can figure that out. These 5 will be debriefed for quite awhile before they are allowed to participate in anything.
... Yes, that is so...
The Taliban are tribal and new family leaders "may" not respect their "elders" coming back from the dead. That may be the reason why Qatar is going to host them for a year. It will give time to re-integrate them into their family hierarchical and criminal institutions.
I don't think young mobsters want to have old mobsters released from prison.
And they can't be sure of just what came back to them...they know we use 'tactics' just like THEY use 'tactics', and each side harbors the suspicion that the other guy's 'tactics' are more effective...So they'll pick these guys apart awhile. Just like WE won't be sending the young sargent back anytime soon, no matter WHAT the story turns out to be.
Cause 5+ years is a long time, and you really can't ever be sure.
Not sure why all the down votes. Seems like a wise course to me. The only problem with your comment I see is, when do the "hard facts" ever actually come out?
Well, of course they don't ALL come out. But do they ever?
I'd just like to see folks give this a little rest for now. The rhetoric has been very, very harsh. And I wonder about how the family and friends feel about hearing all this from their own countrymen, especially after sending their son to fight for them.
And, how will those harsh voices feel if it turns out NOT to be what they thought?
I know, I know...downvotes. Go ahead, get it out of your systems.
But I'll keep posting my opinions...not obnoxiously, as that isn't my way. But persistently, and often in very long-winded format. Here, on zerohedge. And I'm fairly new, so I still have that "new member" enthusiasm for posting...:-)
So go ahead guys, make it rain...
Don't think I'd be attending any weddings or standing on street corners where any of these fellows are. We don't drone people at Gitmo.
I've thought similarly...still doesn't add up. Sure, the released 5 may have had tracking devices implanted or something, waiting for them to return to the "nest", etc., but in order to protect his own ass, OBarry would have at least advised the House Intelligence Committee. As it is, he has left his own self hanging by a thread due to breaking the 30 day notification law. From any angle, it just doesn't add up.
Yeah, umm, how about substantiating this patently absurd statement:
"Because despite all the name-calling about Obama, the man is NOT stupid."
I can provide virtually endless evidence that Obama is, in fact, quite stupid, but you go first.
see the above...
Because despite all the name-calling about Obama, the man is NOT stupid.
Yes , he is.
actually - i would agree. normally - i would hedge and say 'be careful your enemies, don't consider them stupid' - and bush 2 was and is pretty stupid - considering how shrewd the rest of his family is - but he had good staff. o-dummie is a dumb fuck and set up to fail and surrounded by idiots.
although, in this case 'fail' is win. it appears the obama/cia connection is about obama taking this country down a long ugly road, and he is winning that cause.
so - i guess i'm wrong. he is smart.
you figure it out.
You've been swept into the whole disrespect the President-thing. Lulled into a false sense of security into thinking the man is just a boob, someone to ridicule. And THAT was deliberately pushed for a long time...it was advertising, pure and simple, and you bought it.
Just like folks more to the left bought into the whole Clinton-thing...he (they) have been advertised, sold the eager Democrats as their saviour(s).
Anyone who can still argue from a left vs. right perspective HAS been misled, defrauded, and sold a shitty ideology that keeps them from uniting against the common enemy, thus ensuring the defeat of both.
Odds Obama will swing by the German hospital to get a selfie with the "honorable" Sgt. Berdahl?
dem brown men wid der beards who got released ares scarey lookin rapists day could already bee on der way to der usa hartlands homolands
salivatin and full of lusts for are whitey womans folks.
we needs der tsa to protect us from dem
it such a shames der jewish moosad cameraman video is so wobbly i felt sea sick waatchin dis shit
good jobs we can renditions him now and reprogramme him again so we cam makes him into a hero
Once again my friends,
Just like 'Snowden'. Why now? Why one bloke by all accounts, who was a deserter? Why five of their best for one deserter? Who gains? Qui bono? Why is Barry Sotero coming out wrong?
Who thought this a good idea? Why the odd parents who speak 'Pashto'?
Like Mr Snowden, this stinks.
Now, once again, think about it.
Up is down, left is right, etc etc.....
Who gains?
Fucked if I know like.
The reason for ... Why Now?... is a simple domestic political calculation. This pushes the VA Crisis off the front pages. Obama was expecting a positive to come out of this prisoner exchange. The military were supposed to fall in line...
Too bad the Taliban didn't capture Slender Man when he made his surprise visit.
What a sweet deal! We give them 5 sharks and get a traitorous minnow in return. Winning!!
If only Taliban had someone either criminally incompetent or treasonous on the inside of US government who could overule both Pentagon and Intelligence objections to such a Dream deal for Taliban.
To my knowledge we did not give up 5 FedGov officials.
You've known the surrender was coming for years. I have.
Haven't you?
Bravo Hussein Obimbo!
I wish this Kenyan would be elected for at least 10 years into the office. I belive he would birg down the US within the 10 years.
the cunt kills muslims and protects jews that kill americans.
i would suggest the brown mk ultra killer in the whitey house is a jew if not full blown at least an honorary one
Barry works for the Jooze. Some people believe he's their N-word.
The "powers that be" want this guy alive and Snowden dead. This just confirms my belief that everything and I mean EVERYTHING that is going on in this country right now is upside down and backwards.
UPDATE - no more doubts that Mr. Bowe is a traitor to US.
You have no doubts Bergdahl is a traitor becasue Kevin Sieff of the Washington Post alleges that some clown named "Jamal" (no last name) supposedly said that some people in the village a half a mile away told him that they thought Bergdahl had a "covert agenda. . . and was maybe sent by the U.S. "
OK - if anything, that makes it sound more like an op to me - if you can even believe any of that crap (non of which would hold up in court, btw).
No need to ASSume that much.
Washington Post's report confirms statements made by US soldiers, who'd said locals told them Bowe went looking for Taliban. Washington Post's (editted, prior stated CNN) interviews of locals confirm that US soldiers were presenting an accurate picture.
That is of course on top of the statements made by a team leader of the chatter intercepted on the radio stating that Bowe sought Taliban.
So yes, for those who have been following the story, this latest confirmation [unfortunately] removes the last doubts.
But you are free to make up whatever wild theories, unsupported by anything but imagination, if you'd like.
Good day
Alleged witnesses (all heresay, of course) in the article you cited said they thought that Bergdahl may have been sent by the U.S. to seek out the Taliban.
So what exactly am I making up?
My only point is that all of you armchair judges and jurys aren't exactly extending the due process rights supposedly guarenteed to US citizens under the Constitution to Bergdahl.
If there's evidence he commited a crime - charge him and prosicute him. Until that time you can speculate all you want, but it is disrespectful to the Constitution to be tying-up his noose and tossing over the tree limb already.
"will remain in Qatar for at least the next year" Wanna bet?
They will be posting selfies at a Florida flight school in a fucking week.
Betcha.
Good thing we have the TSA to bully, intimidate, grope, and otherwise violate us for our own safety.
Interestingly, you should go to the source of the above pictures for the rest of story, somehow unmentioned by ZH.
'I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation, all the mujahideen and to the families and relatives of the prisoners for this big victory.'
Mullah Mohammad Omar
"Obama's decision to free the top Taliban figures - including a friend of Osama Bin Laden, an opium drug lord and a warlord responsible for hundreds of death"
The latter is Mullah Mohammad Fazi the Taliban’s former deputy defense minister, Fazi was held at Guantanamo after being identified as an enemy combatant by the United States. Fazi is an admitted senior commander who served as chief of staff of the Taliban Army and as a commander of its 22nd Division. He’s also wanted by the United Nations on war crimes for the murder of thousands of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan. According to documents, Fazi “wielded considerable influence throughout the northern region of Afghanistan and his influence continued after his capture.”
As of September 2012, 168 out of the 602 released Guantanamo Bay detainees are suspected of returning to terrorism.
I guess McDonalds wasn't hiring.
This is fake
Real Taliban would have detonated a bomb planted in Bergy's belly once that helicopter was back up
Very good coverage of the Bergdahl affair on DemocracyNow today, including an excellent interview with author Charles Glass who wrote a book about military desertions. For open minds only.
http://www.democracynow.org/
You mean Communism Now?
No, I mean intelligently thinking outside the box Now.
DN is a perfect alternative to corporate TV. Think about it. Watch for yourself. Then see if you still think it represents communism.
Fuck democracy. Fuck it now.
That I was so heavily voted down for that comment reveals some closed minds here at ZH indeed...actually, most of the comments here reveal very narrow thinking (if you can call it that ;-).
Where's a drone strike when you need one?
We reserve those for American citizens in Yemen. Preferably teenagers.
And fuck due process...we do it live.
I smell a wedding!
Meanwhile, a new report just released on the Muslim Brotherhoood in North America highlights that, among other things, the Canadian government is taking a more aggresssive approach to attacking terrorism funding that the US Administration. It also suggests that the civilization jihadist role of the Musim Brothers is being successful in the USA and Canada.
First part of report at: http://tsecnetwork.blogspot.ca/2014/05/1-muslim-brotherhood-in-north-ame...
Full report at: http://tsecnetwork.blogspot.ca/2014/06/click-here-to-download-complete-m...
Now if Barry would just trade away the rest of the Guantanamo prisoners for whatever he can get and close that expensive shithole, he'll at least satisfy one of his campaign promises.
America had absolutely no right to invade and occupy Afghanistan.
State of Idaho cancelled the welcome home party for the TRAITOR!
Maybe they cancelled the parade because he's a, TRAITOR?
Wake the fuck up!
Free Willy!
Fuck government.
Fuck the military that supports government.
Fuck religion.
Fuck the Taliban and their support for religion.
Those the Duck Dynasty guys?
a negro, dear in the headlights. you can't make this stuff up.
send the traitor to Gitmo where he can hang out with his buddies...awaiting military proceedures.... btw when are we going to give KSM the same treatment al q gave the ambassador... castration, cattle prod up the ass and suffocation... be sure to psot it on youtube... i heard they cut off bin ladens balls and stuffed them in his mouth... and coated his body in pig fat....
Is that first black SUV a GM? I would be concerened why the ignition switch didn't fail this time.
Brilliant, I can see Obama sitting behind his huge desk in the Whitehouse when they dropped the bomb shell on him about the US soldier having walked away from his post thinking.....what do I need to do to get a break around here!
Another bumbled disaster that they will want to sweep under the rug as quickly as possible.