The Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl swap will no doubt go down in history as one of America’s darkest hours. We traded so much more than men. We traded our integrity as a nation. We put the entire globe at greater risk by emboldening our enemy.
And now it seems the administration may be leaning on the military to reject or at least delay normal procedures in dealing with Bergdahl's accusation of desertion. The investigation into those charges has been complete for over a week, but still no official word from U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley.
[sharequote align="center"]This enemy has always known they cannot destroy America with guns and tanks.[/sharequote]
Adding insult to injury we have now learned that at least one of the swapped Taliban commanders has made contact with terrorist networks in Qatar.
God help us.
How can we afford to place any further confidence in this administration when they have let us down so desperately?
Bowe Bergdahl is a coward who turned his back on his nation and watched brothers die attempting his rescue. And this is the man our president trades five Taliban commanders for? This is the man who's family was entertained at the White House while families of noble men and women who gave their last full measure have been snubbed?
A poignant image surfaced last year that depicted his exchange and homecoming with complete precision. In it a soldier’s boots are seen crossing the Atlantic, using American flag-draped coffins for footing. Caption: Bergdahl makes his way home.
But more troubling than Bowe Bergdahl’s cowardice, is the administration that gave him the opportunity to disgrace us. This administration bent over and negotiated with savages. The “Taliban five” were terrorists. We knew it. The administration knew it.
In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, sits in a vehicle guarded by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. A U.S. defense official says released captive Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is scheduled to arrive at a military medical center in Texas on Friday. The official, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been publicly announced, declined to provide details. Officials had previously said the intention was for Bergdahl to be reunited with his family at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video) AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video
Good men risked their lives to capture them. I’m sure some offered their last full measure hunting these creatures. And we set them free…for a traitor.
I remember a conversation I had with my son many years ago: “Mom, I’d take my own life before I’d ever allow myself to be taken captive.”
His statement, though difficult to hear, was rooted in clarity. He understood the nature of the monsters he fought. The images of Fallujah 2004 were seared in his mind: American contractors beaten, burned, hacked at, drug through the streets, then hung from a bridge above a frenzied, blood-thirsty mob. No way would he allow his family to be subjected to that type of never-ending terror…if he could help it.
He also understood that if his captors did not kill him, they would certainly use him as a pawn to undo America. He’d have no part in that. He’d rather die on his feet than return to his native land on his knees. This is the heart of a warrior. This is the mind of a man who knows his enemy.
Our president does not have the fortitude or the moral character necessary to deal with the national security threats we face in today’s world. After six years as our commander in chief, overseeing the longest war in America’s history, he still can’t bring himself to even name the enemy. Last week’s comments by a White House spokesman, “the Taliban is not a terrorist organization,” baffled Americans. Watching them scurry for a more comfortable rephrasing of their obvious thought pattern has been almost amusing.
The Taliban harbored Osama bin Laden. The Taliban killed my son. Our soldiers have spent the last 13 years watching the Taliban pillage, rape, torture, and terrorize innocents throughout Afghanistan.
Jani Bergdahl, the mother of freed US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, speaks to the press while her husband Bob Bergdahl and US President Barack Obama look on in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 31, 2014 in Washington, DC. Obama and the Bergdahls spoke after the release of Bowe Bergdahl by the Taliban in Afghanistan. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN
And now this president relegates them to “armed insurgents” for the sole purpose of propping up his dirty, backroom deal for Bowe Bergdahl? How dare he.
When dealing with terrorists, Jordan got it right. “Kill our pilot and we'll execute ALL your prisoners.” This is courage. This is tenacity. This makes me want to stand on my chair and scream, "YES!"
Terror can’t be negotiated with. It can’t be persuaded. It must be demolished—decimated with actions of equal or greater force.
This enemy has always known they cannot destroy America with guns and tanks. They understand clearly that our major point of weakness is a lack of will to do what must be done when things get ugly. We’re civilized…careful…cautious. And I’m proud of that.
But the sickness of political correctness and wobbling loyalties has clouded our clarity. When the very core of western civilization is at risk of being defeated, we must renounce political correctness and do what must be done.
Kill one American, we kill 1,000 of you.
And PS: while we care about innocent civilian lives, we won’t let that stop our revenge. We can play this game too.
Billy Vaughn has authored the book "Betrayed: The Shocking True Story of Extortion 17" and Karen serves as Senior Military Families Advisor for Concerned Veterans for America. They founded www.ForOurSon.us which is dedicated to preserving our Republic.
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