According to Jeffrey Toobin of CNN, “Obama clearly broke the law” in his effort to free American POW Bowe Bergdahl.
My gripe about this report. I watched another segment aired on CNN earlier yesterday, and there was an opinion expressed by a Law professor (whose name I failed to note at the time) who questioned the constitutionality of the law requiring President Obama to notify Congress within 30-days of any prisoner release from Guantanomo.
The language of Article Two ("command of the military") in the U.S. Constitution clearly states:
“The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
Clearly, the 30-day Congressional notice requirement encroaches upon the powers of the executive branch. President Obama and Defense Secretary Hagel had reason to believe that American POW Bergdahl faced immediate danger – necessitating quick and preemptive action. More than justified under such circumstances, any constitutional challenge in court of his command authority would far more than likely favor the president.
Meanwhile, why did CNN fail to include the “other” opinion? More to the point, why was this constitutional issue withheld from public discussion?
Sensationalism as usual, inflaming public controversy for ratings and audience share, prescribing 'shrink wrapped' news instead of reporting it - this is garbage journalism at its worst and unworthy of CNN.
Afternoon Update: Be prepared for Benghazi Part II and the art of politicizing everything you can)! Related stories:
GOP dispatches hit team to interview angry former members of Bergdahl's platoon (IOW, how to hold kangaroo court by gossip on FaceBook instead of practicing due process in a court of law).
From Zero to Impeachment in One Day. I have only one regret. Too bad President Obama didn’t trade all Tea Party Republicans to the Taliban for one prisoner of war.
I can not help but question why after 5 years Bergdahl was in imminent danger. There is more than is being said IMO.
ReplyDeleteOn the issue of wether or not he is a deserter, hopefully the actual facts come out and either he is completely exonerated or if guilty of desertion meets the appropriate outcome.
His health seems evidence enough of danger, but i have on ly one thing to say to the 'broke the law' assholes. If it was you or your son being held by madmen, what the hell would you want Obama to do? People are still flying flags for the people we may or may not have left behind in Vietnam and the Marines still proudly tell us no man will be left behind. The only difference is that it's Obama and the list of constitutional infractions by he predecessor makes liars out this rabble. As I said, That idiot Reagan made a far shadier deal with the Ayatollah to get hostages back and nobody talked about impeaching him. Let them cry and scream and let the members of his platoon blow it out of their swift boats. I'm ashamed we have people like that in the military.
ReplyDeleteIn the fog of speculation and the low visibility resulting from such a strong anti-Obama tint, many critics of the Bergdahl swap have completely failed to ponder the possibility that the five Taliban detainees exchanged in return for Sgt. Bergdahl's release may have been "Manchurian Candidates." Allow me to explain:
ReplyDeleteThe Manchurian Candidate was a 1962 suspense film starring Frank Sinatra as one of a platoon of soldiers in Korea who are captured by Communist forces and then returned to their unit. One of them however has been hypnotized, brainwashed and trained as an unwitting assassin.
Could the Taliban prisoners detained all these years at Guantanamo have been brainwashed and psychologically reprogrammed to be spies or unwitting assassins for the CIA? The idea has been out there for more than 50 years now, long enough for most of the public to have forgotten about it but with plenty of time to perfect the details with modern psychological warfare techniques and technology.
It is also quite plausible that the Taliban prisoners exchanged for Bergdahl were implanted with some sort of microchip for tracking, or surgically outfitted with some sort of sophisticated nanotechnology that permits U.S. intelligence agencies to follow them deep into Taliban networks via satellite once they return home. We can't possibly know the true cloak and dagger elements in play, but such scenarios are certainly not beyond the realm of the possible and they make clear strategic sense.
Given the paranoia of such a possibility, the liberated Taliban prisoners will probably be closely monitored and won't be quickly trusted by their comrades back in Afghanistan. In all likelihood, they will probably receive limited access to control and command networks for fear that they have been psychologically or technologically compromised.
How far beyond the realm of credibility is such a scenario? Well, in case you think I'm completely full of nonsense, there is already speculation among Islamists that Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, is already practicing a form of microchip-driven mind control. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi actually made that exact claim.
And then there is this to consider: the fear of such technology or psychological techniques alone may sew almost as much damage as the actual presence of a "Manchurian Candidate" amid the released Taliban captors. Anybody familiar with Rod Serling's classic short story, "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," will appreciate the descructive power of paranoia.
One last comment here to conclude: there has been a growing public awareness of psychological operations, more recently known as Military Information Support Operations. It would be naïve to think that psychological warfare traits and techniques aren't in play with the release of five Taliban prisoners for Sgt. Bergahl. At the very least, the odds are good that these people were at least consulted with and have offered various scenarios whereby those freed from Guantanamo become ticking time bombs or create disruptive scenarios in which the Taliban is distracted, exposed or made vulnerable. Not all is what it appears to be in the paper and on right wing blog sites and chat rooms.
Some interesting thoughts indeed. There is always far more to these stories, but the fuss is being made for the benefit of yapping dogs and Republicans, not intellectuals or people who give a shit about anything but Obamabashing.
ReplyDeleteBut really, the mere suggestion that these guys have been tampered with is enough to cast doubt on them and impair their usefulness -- and besides they've been out of it for so long. Al Qaeda is a very suspicious lot, I'm sure.
Yapping and Republicans. Well put, Capt. Fogg. Yes, and a lot of reverb and cognitive dissonance as well in the right wing echo chamber. It's a noisy, chaotic place where rational and civil discussion is often drowned out.
DeleteHoyt,
ReplyDeleteDitto Captain Fogg's comment. Interesting thoughts indeed. Only one caveat: Partisan impatience. The most rabid voices in the GOP never wait for all facts to be known and will avail themselves of every opportunity to beat the drum of Obama Derangement Syndrome. I still think a better trade would have been Tea Party Republicans in exchange. Think of the benefits:
No more hostage taking in Congress,
No more legislative gridlock,
No government shutdown,
Peace and quiet throughout the realm.
My only fear: Once the Taliban realize they got a bad deal, they'd offer a reverse ransom to send them back.
"Some interesting thoughts indeed. There is always far more to these stories, but the fuss is being made for the benefit of yapping dogs and Republicans, not intellectuals or people who give a shit about anything but Obamabashing."
ReplyDeleteExactly my thoughts as well. The blathering bands of Blefuscudians. never miss a chance to attack this president, usually before all the facts are known.
I've linked to this post over at P.E.
Especially before the facts are known so as to preempt rational decision, because once identified as an official tribal response, it's not going to change. It's human nature. Changing one's mind under such circumstances would be like heresy, like giving up the faith to its enemies and a despicable act.
ReplyDelete