[Kzyxtalk] "What Bergdahl Can Teach Us" -- on KMEC Radio, Monday, April 6, at 1 PM

[sako4 at comcast.net]

* * * * * FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE * * * * * 




John and Sid return to KMEC Radio on Monday, April 6, at 1 PM, Pacific Time, with guest Matthew Hoh. We'll talk about, "What the Bowe Bergdahl Case Can Teach Us". 




KMEC Radio airs at 105.1 FM in Ukiah, CA. We also stream live from the web at www.kmecradio.org 




We archive our shows at KMEC Radio, and we also post our shows to Youtube. Shows may also b posted to the Public Radio Exchange and Radio4All. 




BACKGROUND 




It's a complicated issue. A lot of vets want to see Bergdahl court court-martialed for two reasons. 

First reason. Some said the search for Bergdahl cost the lives of six American soldiers. KIA. The specific circumstances are complicated, but it is clear that the six died in Paktika Province in the months after Bergdahl vanished, during a period in which every mission, even if not directly aimed at finding Bergdahl, included some element of a search. As one former team leader told CNN, "when those soldiers were killed, they would not have been where they were if Bergdahl had not left." 




One of six KIA, 2nd Lt Darryn Andrews, received a posthumous Silver Star for saving the lives of five soldiers during a mission that had shifted from searching for a Taliban target to looking for Bergdahl. Andrews left behind a pregnant wife and a 2-year-old son. 




Second reason. The U.S. paid dearly in a high-cost trade for Bergdahl's release. Five Taliban commanders were flown out of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, freed in exchange for the American soldier whose disappearance many had already labeled a desertion. 

The five Taliban terrorists who were freed in exchange for Bergdahl could go on to fight again. Under the terms of the deal, Qatar agreed to keep the former prisoners from leaving the country for only one year. At least two of the former Guantanamo detainees reportedly want to go back to the battlefield, perhaps adding to the eventual tally of the Bergdahl transaction. 




Another thing. A lot of vets wonder if the "no man left behind" principle really applies to deserters. 




Does it? 




That said, the never-ending war in Afghanistan is illegal and immoral. And, as we now know, Obama just announced he's keeping 9,800 U. S. troops in Afghanistan to secure our CIA bases and drones. The promise to withdraw has been broken. Here at KMEC Radio, we just did a show on this subject. 




MATTHEW HOH 




Hoh, a State Department whistleblower, wrote the piece “Stop Persecuting Bowe Bergdahl” for Politico. See: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/stop-persecuting-bowe-bergdahl-108461.html#.VSHKYvnF9KZ 




Hoh recently said: “With more than 4 out of 5 Americans against the war in Afghanistan, and a majority of Americans saying the war was a mistake, Sergeant Bergdahl’s concerns about the war resonate with many Americans. 




“As you will see from Sergeant Bergdahl’s lawyers’ statement, the report conducted by the Army found Sergeant Bergdahl not to have the intention to desert permanently; not to have the intention of joining the Taliban or assisting the enemy; that he did not cooperate with his captors, but rather attempted to escape 12 times; that no American soldiers died looking for Sergeant Bergdahl; and that Sergeant Bergdahl left his post to report ‘disturbing circumstances to the attention of the nearest general officer.’ 


“Sergeant Bergdahl’s disaffection with the war can be seen and understood, not only through the failure of the American war effort in Afghanistan, but through the ongoing civil wars in the Greater Middle East and in the rise of the Islamic State.” 




“While I am saddened for Sergeant Bergdahl’s family, with whom I am friends, and hopeful that no charges will be brought against him at his Article 32 hearing, I do believe Sergeant Bergdahl’s case offers a valuable opportunity for our nation to discuss our wars, evaluate our wars’ executions and results, and question whether or not the sacrifices of our young service members and their families, as well as the suffering of millions of people throughout the Muslim World, has been worthwhile.” 




Hoh, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, previously directed the Afghanistan Study Group, a collection of foreign and public policy experts and professionals advocating for a change in U.S. policy in Afghanistan. 




Prior to the Afghanistan Study Group, Hoh served with the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq and on U.S. Embassy teams in both Afghanistan and Iraq. 




See Washington Post profile of Hoh: “U.S. official resigns over Afghan war”: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/26/AR2009102603394.html
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