Sarah Palin Lashes Out On Bowe Bergdahl, Obama’s Prisoner Swap
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has some harsh words for President Obama following the negotiated release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, five years after his capture in Afghanistan.
When news of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release (following a swap of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay by the US) was made publicly available, Americans were predictably divided over the news… and not everyone was pleased about the achievement.
Most were thrilled to learn the missing soldier would finally return home, but some media voices — Sarah Palin among them — vocally objected to the Obama administration’s work to bring Bergdahl home.
Palin and Michelle Malkin both lashed out at both the president and Sgt. Bergdahl, over claims that he deserted his post.
Former Sgt. Matt Vierkant was stationed with Bergdahl, and he said:
“I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything going on… Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him.”
Hours after the news of Bergdahl’s rescue by US Special Forces troops was made public, Malkin was “raising questions” about the circumstances under which he disappeared in Afghanistan in 2009:
Flashback: Read what a USARPAC soldier told me in 2009 when I raised q's about Bowe Bergdahl's desertion==> http://t.co/GUTeZcfSfE
— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) May 31, 2014
But Palin ranted at both Bergdahl and “Barak” Obama, posting to Facebook:
“Barak [sic] Obama just released Islamic terrorists from GITMO, exchanging the murderers for a soldier who ended up in enemy hands five years ago amidst unexplained circumstances. Obama glowingly suggests now that he succeeded in negotiating with terrorists to seal the deal, violating America’s agreement with our allies that we would not be so reckless, short-sighted and stupid as to negotiate with terrorists – and now these Islamists who hate us are free to go about their business of killing us.”
She takes a shot with immigration talking points as well, adding:
“Meanwhile, we have a U.S. Marine detained in Mexico who is ignored by Obama – it’s like someone said: ‘our Marine is the ONLY one Obama won’t let cross the border.’ Obama needs to hop on Air Force One and visit our neighbors to the south to seal THAT deal because surely the Commander-in-Chief lives up to his word and 230 years of U.S. Military ethos promising we ‘leave no one behind.'”
However, it seems leaving Bergdahl behind is precisely what Palin expected Obama to do, and she adds:
“It would be wonderful for him to make it back to Idaho in time for Father’s Day. Perhaps around a traditional all-American barbeque for pops, he can convince his dad there’s no need to continue his anti-American rants that tear the fabric of the flag to which his son pledged allegiance.”
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The circumstances under which Bergdahl went missing are indeed yet to be determined — but while Palin, Malkin, and their fellow pundits are keen on the “desertion” angle, a lengthy profile written for Rolling Stone by the late Michael Hastings on Bergdahl has been heavily recommended following the soldier’s rescue as a refresher read.
In it, Hastings fairly weighs both Bergdahl’s purported behavior before his disappearance as well as a unit that appeared to be in chaos and struggling to maintain morale amid alleged severe mismanagement by higher-ups.
Sarah Palin’s comments on Bowe Bergdahl have been heavily liked and shared by fans, and can be viewed directly via the link above.
