According to the New York Times, meetings that members of the media have had with disgruntled members of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s former platoon are being arranged by Republican strategists.
“Yes, I’m angry,” Joshua Cornelison, a former medic in Sergeant Bergdahl’s platoon, said in an interview on Monday arranged by Republican strategists. [...]
“He wouldn’t drink beer or eat barbecue and hang out with the other 20-year-olds,” Cody Full, another member of Sergeant Bergdahl’s platoon, said in an interview on Monday also arranged by Republican strategists.
And according to Buzzfeed, the “strategists” that the New York Times refused to name is Richard Grenell.
Grenell, as you may recall, served as an adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign for just two weeks before resigning because people discovered that he was moonlighting as a raging douchebag on Twitter.
Grenell also served as a spokesman for Mark “Hiking the Appalachian Trail” Sanford and as an aide to John Bolton.
While I don’t believe we have anywhere near the full story, saying that he “wouldn’t drink beer or eat barbecue” isn’t exactly a sound indictment.
In regards to his rescue, the circumstances of Bergdahl’s disappearance are irrelevant. To argue otherwise is to argue that there are circumstances in which it’s okay to leave an American service member in prison overseas forever. That is the current position of the Republican party; that we should leave people behind if they refuse to drink beer and eat barbecue like Real Americans.
Did you, in your wildest dreams, imagine that we would see a day when Republicans attack an administration for rescuing an America from a Taliban prison?
General Martin E. Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, released this statement today.
In response to those of you interested in my personal judgments about the recovery of SGT Bowe Bergdahl, the questions about this particular soldier’s conduct are separate from our effort to recover ANY U.S. service member in enemy captivity. This was likely the last, best opportunity to free him. As for the circumstances of his capture, when he is able to provide them, we’ll learn the facts. Like any American, he is innocent until proven guilty. Our Army’s leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred. In the meantime, we will continue to care for him and his family. Finally, I want to thank those who for almost five years worked to find him, prepared to rescue him, and ultimately put themselves at risk to recover him.
Is Bergdahl a distraction from Benghazi, or is Benghazi a distraction from Bergdahl? What is the hottest fake scandal at the moment? This calls for a focus test.