Following the release of American prisoner of war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last week, questions and allegations started to fly over why the Obama administration negotiated with the Taliban for Bergdahl’s release. Some claim that Bergdahl was a deserter, thus negating any reason to trade suspected terrorists for Bergdahl. Others — including House Speaker John Boehner — have already called for congressional hearings to investigate the matter.
So much for leaving no man behind.
Obama has reached a point in his presidency where he can do no right. During the George W. Bush administration, Bush reached a similar situation, but that was following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq and the near collapse of the U.S. economy. Obama’s problem is he merely exists, and so long as he occupies the White House, any action his administration takes will be seen as direct conflict with America, freedom and democracy.
Critiques of Obama aside, we probably deserve some clarity about what happened to Bergdahl before his capture by the Taliban — and let’s hope the military conducts whatever investigation they deem appropriate — but it’s past time for us to stop politicizing every action taken by the president and his White House.
Yes, Obama holds a political position, but just because the man takes an action does not mean the opposition must be diametrically opposed to that action. Where are the military veterans serving in Congress — especially former POW John McCain — on this issue?
McCain called the prisoner swap a “mistake,” seeming to ignore his own predicament when he was held captive by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Could McCain not step out of line with the Republicans to simply say we’re glad to have one of our soldiers home?
Never.
Bergdahl’s release was secured by a Democratic presidential administration and therefore was obviously the wrong course of action.
The U.S. spent trillions of dollars, and thousands of brave men and women gave their lives for two wars that stretched for more than a decade, and we’ve accomplished very little as a result. Iraq is a mess, and the Taliban could very well regain control of Afghanistan once we leave, but by all means, let’s argue over the release of an American soldier held captive by the enemy.
If Bergdahl went AWOL five years ago as some suspect, then the military — not the politicians — should handle the situation. Instead, what we have here is just another boogeyman for Republicans to chase, and chase it they will.
Obama’s had a challenging presidency, and Republicans will stop at nothing to discredit and delegitimize a democratically elected president before his term ends in January 2017. The future of the GOP may very well rely on wounding Obama and the Democrats prior to the 2016 election or Republicans could lose their third presidential election in a row.
The situation surrounding Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is just one more link in the chain of destruction built by the GOP. When you can’t win national elections, you aren’t left with many options, and it’s led Republicans into search-and-destroy mode. With each news story, the Republicans pivot to the next big scandal. When the Obamacare website was a mess, it was the key issue that would end Democratic rule, but when the website started working, Republicans pivoted to the attacks in Benghazi, Libya and the scandal at the IRS. When the horrendous waits for veterans at VA facilities across the country hit the headlines, Republicans were there to demand heads, and now, they have Bergdahl in their sights.
A man was held captive by the enemy for five years, and instead of welcoming him home, politicians are lining up to call him a coward and a deserter.
The question for everyone is: Would the same politicians do this if a Republican occupied the White House?
[Joel Mendelson is a UF graduate student in political campaigning. His columns appear on Thursdays. A version of this column ran on page 6 on 6/5/2014 under the headline "Obama’s POW negotiations rally GOP"]
