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Here is the truth: The deal to trade five senior Taliban detainees
to secure the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was political. It was
publicly justified with lies, it breaks decades of U.S. policy, it
breaks American law, it puts Americans at risk, it undermines the
government of Afghanistan, and it passes responsibility on to the next
administration.
But first of all, it was political.
But no, it was not to take the spot light off of the failures at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Simply stated, it was because so long as Bergdahl remained in Taliban
captivity in Pakistan, the Obama administration would never be able to
close the chapter of the failed Afghanistan campaign it has owned since
approving — and then under-resourcing — a surge of U.S. forces in the
country. (Pentagon Official: Obama Conducting Foreign Policy Based On Polling — Not US Safety)
Bergdahl’s captivity served as a constant reminder of President
Barack Obama’s strategic failures while U.S. forces prepare to withdraw
from Afghanistan. That’s something the Democrats cannot allow going into
2014 and 2016 elections. So the president agreed to an unprecedented
deal in blatant violation of U.S. law and established precedent that
undermines the safety and security of the United States and her
citizens, once again choosing short-term political gain over long-term security interests. (Pentagon Official: Obama’s Afghanistan Fantasy Today Is America’s Nightmare Tomorrow)
Claims of new information on Bergdahl’s deteriorating health are
simply false justifications. Bergdahl’s health was in no worse shape
than should be reasonably expected of someone who had been a prisoner
for five years. He walked without assistance into the waiting company of
U.S. special operations forces, and then climbed aboard the waiting
helicopter. He was mentally sound enough to recognize what was going on
around him and to communicate with American forces. And none of the
medical or psychological issues that he has displayed symptoms are life
threatening. So this was just another example of the administration
trying to justify its actions.
Additionally, the decision breaks with a decades-old standing U.S.
policy to never negotiate with terrorists. Bergdahl was being held by
the Haqqani Network in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of
Pakistan. The Obama administration designated the Haqqani Network a
terrorist organization just a few years ago. By negotiating with the
Haqqani Network through the government of Qatar, the administration
violated the policy. (Pentagon Official: Obama’s #ForeignPolicy? #AskMichelle)
Though this is not how the Obama administration sees it.
When CNN’s Candy Crowley asked National Security Advisor Susan Rice if
the U.S. had negotiated with terrorists, Rice once again proved she
shouldn’t be allowed on Sunday shows when she said no, because the
United States had negotiated the deal through Qatar. But a child can
understand that the Qataris passing our messages to the Taliban — and
vice versa — makes the Qataris no different than a telephone or email
service. We were negotiating with the Haqqanis no matter how you try to
spin it.
And when asked why the administration failed to notify Congress about
the Guantanamo Bay prison transfer despite U.S. law requiring the
administration to notify Congress 30 days in advance of any transfer of
prisoners from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, she said
it was because they were worried it would jeopardize the deal.
So Rice and the administration were afraid that congressmen
exercising their oversight might object to the release of five
battle-hardened terrorists and suspected war criminals, or that the deal
could leak. So instead, the administration chose to willfully violate
U.S. law by not informing Congress.
And as for fears of a leak, the administration informed members of
Congress about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden before it took place
— something far more sensitive in terms of intelligence resources. Rice
did, however, let us know that the administration had seen fit to
consult with the Department of Justice about the deal.
The five detainees released were among the most senior members of the
former Taliban government to be captured by the United States. They
include the former Taliban minister of the interior, Taliban deputy
minister of defense, Taliban deputy minister of intelligence, a senior
Taliban military commander, and the Taliban governor of Herat Province.
Several of these men are accused of committing serious war crimes,
including genocide. All of these men have Afghan and American blood on
their hands.
Although the five Taliban commanders had been declared high risk,
some have argued that they are too old and have been in prison for too
long to make a successful return to the battlefield. Many detainees
released from Guantanamo Bay have done just that, though. Surprise.
As part of the deal, these five men must remain in Qatar for one year
before they are permitted to return to Afghanistan. And in doing so,
the administration is once again kicking the can down the road.
In one year, the U.S. will have withdrawn all combat forces from
Afghanistan — according to the president’s plan. These men will now
become the Afghan government’s problem, and we can add them to the
growing list of issues, including Iran, North Korea and Syria that this
president is passing the buck on. Finally, the
administration failed to consult the government of Afghanistan before
agreeing to this deal. In doing so, the Obama administration robbed
Afghan President Karzai and his successor of potentially valuable
bargaining chips in a larger reconciliation effort. This deal
essentially took chess pieces off of the board for the Afghans at a time
when they were needed most, and has left the Afghan government in a
position where it looks weak, incompetent and untrustworthy to its ally.
That is not a good signal to send to the nation or the world just
before the U.S. withdraws its combat forces and begins the final
transition of responsibility to the Afghanistan and they’re security
forces.
But all that is secondary in the Obama White House, where optics rule.
And the show must go on. Joseph Miller is the pen name for a senior Department of
Defense official with a background is in U.S. special operations and
combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has worked in strategic
planning.
WASHINGTON — Most of the reaction to Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release
after five years as a captive of the Taliban has been celebratory, but a
pair of lawmakers questioned whether the deal reached with the Taliban
was legal and whether the price paid was too high.
The Army sergeant was held captive for nearly five years by the
Taliban, mostly in Pakistan, U.S. officials believe, and the president,
Defense secretary, secretary of State, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and
the sergeant’s parents all expressed relief and gratitude after 18
Taliban handed Bergdahl over to U.S. special forces in Afghanistan,
spiriting him back into the care of the U.S. military.
Two senior Republican lawmakers, however, accused Obama of violating
the law by failing to notify Congress 30 days before the deal to swap
five members of the Taliban held at Guantanamo and voiced concerns that
the U.S. gave up too much. Bergdahl Freed After 5 Years in Taliban Captivity Taliban Captive ‘Was Never Forgotten,’ Obama Says
The top Republicans on the House and Senate armed-services committees
cautioned that “we must carefully examine the means by which we secured
[Bergdahl's] freedom,” warning that the U.S. had effectively reneged on
its policy not to negotiate with terrorists.
So what exactly did the U.S. give up to get Bergdahl back?
The U.S. has released five Taliban prisoners kept at Guantanamo Bay —
all of them either senior Taliban figures or Taliban officials with
connections to Taliban leaders, and all labeled by the Pentagon as
highly dangerous to the security of the U.S. and its allies if released.
They are:
Mohammad Fazl, the former Taliban defense minister
during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, chief of staff of the Taliban
army, and commander of its 22nd Division. According to a U.S. Department
of Defense document obtained by Wikileaks,
Fazl is believed to be an associate of Supreme Taliban Commander Mullah
Omar and was “wanted by the UN for possible war crimes including the
murder of thousands of Shiites,” surrendered to the Northern Alliance
commander Gen. Dostum in November 2001.
“Detainee is assessed to be a HIGH risk, as he is
likely to pose a threat to the US, its interests, and allies,” his
Guantanamo detainee file reads. “If released, detainee would likely
rejoin the Taliban and establish ties with ACM [anti-coalition militia]
elements participating in hostilities against US and Coalition forces in
Afghanistan.”
Mullah Norullah Noori, a former Taliban military
commander and Taliban governor of two Afghan provinces, who led Taliban
forces against U.S. and coalition troops and was also “wanted by the
United Nations (UN) for possible war crimes including the murder of
thousands of Shiite Muslims” as Fazl was, according to Noori’s Guantanamo prisoner file as obtained and posted by Wikileaks. He is also believed to be associated with Supreme Taliban Commander Mullah Omar.
Noori commanded the Taliban in the northern city of Mazar e-Sharif. Like Fazl, he surrendered to Gen. Dostum in 2001.
Rated a “HIGH” threat to U.S. security interests if released, Noori
is or was associated with members of al Qaeda, the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, and Hezb-e-Islami
Gulbuddin.
Mohammed Nabi, another senior Taliban official with
ties to al Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, and
other anti-U.S., Taliban-allied groups, according to his Guantanamo Bay file as posted by Wikileaks.
Also rated as a “HIGH” security threat if released, Nabi fought with
the mujahideen against the Soviets. After that, he told the Americans
who captured and detained him, he was an off-and-on Taliban member in
the early 2000s, worked for the chief of the Taliban’s Border
Department, which controlled smuggling. In early spring of 2002, he left
the Taliban to sell used cars in a small village near Khowst and became
a CIA informant.
According to his Defense Dept. file, Nabi was involved in attacks
against U.S. and coalition forces and facilitated smuggling routes for
the Taliban and al Qaeda.
Khairullah Khairkhwa, a direct associate of Osama bin Laden according to his Defense Dept. detainee file obtained by Wikileaks, and a senior Taliban military commander who also served as the Taliban’s minister of Interior and the governor of Herat.
He represented the Taliban at meetings with Iranian officials seeking
to support actions against U.S. and coalition forces after the Sept. 11
attacks, according to the document. He attended a meeting at the
direction of bin Laden, reportedly accompanied by members of Hamas, the
document says, and is believe to have been one of the major opium lords
of western Afghanistan.
In 2002, he sought to negotiate an integration into the new
government through Wali Karzai, the brother of Afghan President Hamid
Karzai who has been accused of corruption and drug smuggling, but was
arrested by Pakistani border patrol and released by Pakistan into U.S.
custody.
He is also deemed a “HIGH” threat if released.
Abdul Haq Wasiq, the Taliban’s former deputy
minister of intelligence, had direct connections to Taliban leadership
and was “central to the Taliban’s efforts to form alliances with other
Islamic fundamentalist groups” to fight against U.S. and coalition
forces, according to his Defense Dept. file obtained by Wikileaks.
He also used his position to support al Qaeda, assist Taliban
personnel in eluding capture, and arranged for al Qaeda members to train
Taliban intelligence staff, according to the file.
He seems to have later turned informant, as his file notes that Wasiq
was arrested after a meeting with two Americans and a translator, in
which he was supposed to deliver information leading to the capture of
Mullah Omar. Shortly after the meeting, U.S. forces arrested him.
“Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay
for Berghdal’s release may have consequences for the rest of our forces
and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong
incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in
Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk,” said House Armed
Services Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., and Senate Armed
Services Ranking Member James Inhofe, R-Okla., in a joint statement.
Mullah Mohammad Fazl, left, and Abdul Haq Wasiq are shown in these undated photos. Image credit: Department of Defense
“In executing this transfer, the President also clearly violated laws
which require him to notify Congress thirty days before any transfer of
terrorists from Guantanamo Bay and to explain how the threat posed by
such terrorists has been substantially mitigated. Our joy at Sergeant
Berghdal’s release is tempered by the fact that President Obama chose to
ignore the law, not to mention sound policy, to achieve it,” they said
in the joint statement.
A senior administration official responded: “Due to a near-term
opportunity to save Sergeant Bergdahl’s life, we moved as quickly as
possible. The administration determined that given these unique and
exigent circumstances, such a transfer should go forward notwithstanding
the notice requirement” of the National Defense Authorization Act, the
law in which Congress levied the Guantanamo-transfer restrictions.
The detainees left Guantanamo this afternoon for Qatar, which will
take them into custody. After that, it’s not clear exactly what their
status will be.
Obama said today that he has received “assurances that [Qatar] will
put in place measures to protect our national security,” and a senior
Defense official told ABC that Qatar will be able to secure the
detainees. They will also be subject to a travel ban for one year, the
Defense official said.
It’s not entirely clear what freedom of movement and communication these now-former detainees will enjoy.
The exchange had been discussed previously, and an opportunity to
pursue it arose this week, U.S. administration officials said. It was
facilitated by Qatar and its emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, with
whom Obama said he has spoken.
Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the Qatari leader in their statements on Bergdahl’s release. ABC’s Ali Weinberg contributed to this report.
Captured: U.S. solider Private Bowe Bergdahl, pictured in a video
released in April, is teaching the Taliban bomb-making skills, according
to one of his captors Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1305184/Bowe-Bergdahl-Taliban-claim-captured-U-S-solider-teaching-fighters-bomb-making
skills according to one of his captors
A captured American soldier is training Taliban fighters
bomb-making and ambush skills, according to one of his captors and
Afghan intelligence officials.
Private Bowe Bergdahl disappeared in June 2009 while based in eastern
Afghanistan and is thought to be the only U.S. serviceman in captivity.
The 24-year-old has converted to Islam and now has the Muslim name Abdullah, one of his captors told The Sunday Times.
A Taliban deputy district commander in Paktika, who called himself Haji
Nadeem, told the newspaper that Bergdahl taught him how to dismantle a
mobile phone and turn it into a remote control for a roadside bomb.
Nadeem claimed he also received basic ambush training from the U.S. soldier.”
Attorney Orly Taitz has been advancing
the issue of Barack Obama's fraudulent documents, including his birth
certificate, selective service form and his use of a bogus Social
Security number for several years now. She has also thrown her hat into
the ring in the primaries for California Attorney General. On Monday,
Taitz said that she had three United States Congressmen, including her
own Representative, along with voters who specifically asked questions
about Obama's bogus IDs. In that meeting, it was Taitz's own
Congressman, according to her, who asked the valid question, "Why
doesn't Obama have a valid Social Security number and valid IDs?"
According to Taitz's website,
Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher "invited Taitz to attend a meeting
of activists and patriots, which was held at his home in Costa Mesa,
CA."
At the meeting, she also addressed Texas Congressman Ted Poe and
asked him when Congress would address the issue of Obama's fraudulent
and fabricated IDs and stolen Social Security number. According to
Taitz, Congressman Rohrabacher said that people who question Obama's
legitimacy are called names like "birther," but went on to say, "nobody
is answering a legitimate question: why doesn't Obama have a valid
Social Security number and valid IDs?"
It should be noted that the original birthers were not Republicans,
nor were they members of the Tea Party. That's right. The original
birthers were Democrats, including Bill and Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama's publishers were also birthers,
long before the accusation of wearing tin foil hats and being racists
against America's first black (illegitimate) president were tossed
about. The Kenyan Parliament and even a Kenyan newspaper were birthers before it was cool to be called "birther." Even a document examiner tied to Obama's defense attorneys says that Obama's birth certificate is 100% fraud.
While Poe said that members of Congress know about the issue and talk
about it, he would not give a definitive answer for anything that is
being done. Apparently, they all have the same sentiment as spineless
Oklahoma Congressman Markwayne Mullins and just "don't give a sh*t."
Rorhrabacher told Taitz following the meeting, "I do feel bad that
people are called names, called birthers. I feel this is a legitimate
issue, this question should have been raised and answered long time ago,
at the very beginning."
From Taitz's perspective, she believes the GOP want to try and win
the 2014 elections and with that in mind don't want anything to distract
from that. So far, the battle is uphill to take six seats in the
Senate. Taitz wrote that she agrees that the issue might be best heard
on its merits following the November elections.
I disagree with her on this point. I don't think Congress wants to
hear the merits of this issue. Establishment Republicans are scared to
death of being called racist over this issue. After all, Sheriff Joe
Arpaio took his evidence to the GOP convention in 2012 and where did that go? Nowhere.
Taitz went on to elaborate about what else took place at the meeting:
At the meeting a number of angry activists asked questions about
impunity of officials like Eric Holder, who was found to be in contempt
of Congress for refusal to provide essential documents in regards to
high officials, including Obama's knowledge of Fast and Furious and Lois
Lerner, also in contempt of Congress for persecutions of Conservatives
by the IRS. A question was asked: What can we, the citizens, do?
Ted Poe responded that aside from voting for true patriots and
constitutionalists, the public can demand that judges rule. He stated
that the law suit filed by the Congress against Eric Holder has been
sitting in court for quite some time, a couple of years. Poe stated that
when he was a judge, he did not take that long to rule on motions. At a
prior meeting, Congressman Issa expressed the same frustration. All of
the Congressmen talked about a judge, Obama appointee, who is simply
sitting on the case filed by Congress seeking to enforce the contempt of
court charge against Attorney General Eric Holder. The congressmen did
not state the name of the Obama appointee judge, who is dragging her
feet, but it is a matter of public record. Presiding judge is Amy
Berman. The public can write to Judge Berman and urge her to expedite
her ruling in this case. The case dealt with Fast and Furious, when
Obama administration engaged in gun trafficking of thousands of assault
weapons to drug cartels in Mexico. These drug cartels are closely connected to a number of Muslim terrorist organizations.
Further, Congressman Royce, Chair of the Foreign Relations
committee, spoke about his complete frustration and disgust with Obama's
policies in regards to Iran. Royce stated that a number of the US
administrations since the 1979 revolution in Iran followed the same
policies. There were sanctions on Iran and the funds were frozen. Royce
was outraged by the fact that Obama went behind the back of the US
Congress and secretly negotiated with Iran seeking to lift sanctions and
unfreeze funding. Royce stated that the new stance by the Obama
administration would place a limit in the grade of Uranium, but not on
the amount of Uranium produced at that grade. Of even greater concern,
is the fact that the agreement completely omits any limitation on
enrichment of Plutonium. Royce argued that there is no other reason for
Iran to enrich Plutonium aside from building a Plutonium bomb and Iran
already announced that it will increase the production of enriched
plutonium 300 times.
Further Congressman Rohrabacher spoke about the American
Revolution. He stated that we all know about the Boston tea party, but
not many know about the fact that King George prior to the revolution
issued a decree where he announced that all the trees in the colonies
belonged to the British crown and American colonists were obligated to
pay a tax on every tree they cut. This caused a build up of an enormous
anger, which subsequently ended in the American revolution. We are
seeing this anger boiling and spilling out in Bunkerville NV, Utah and
other places. Americans are angry and sooner or later this anger will
lead to a change.
Taitz continues to pursue the avenues available to her in the courts, patiently filing and refiling to advance the case
to open up the Obama social security fraud allegations to the Freedom
of Information Act in order to determine with specificity that Obama is
using Harry Bounel's Social Security number.
It seems the representatives of the people are more interested in
playing games with the devil and assuming power than they are actually
dealing with a criminal administration that is leading us into a
communist style revolution. One thing is for certain, if Congress were
to press this issue they could shut down a lot of the illegal executive
orders and unconstitutional laws of this administration simply by
bringing to light the criminal usurpation of the office of the
presidency by Barack Hussein Obama. Read more at
http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/05/ca-congressman-dana-rohrabacher-why-doesnt-obama-have-a-valid-social-security-number-and-valid-ids/#Wdm9gr2KRVwFJUVx.99
From
left: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama and
PA President Mahmoud Abbas during a trilateral meeting in New York,
Sept. 22, 2009 (photo credit: Avi Ohayon/GPO/Flash90)
Jerusalem on Monday night
slammed the United States for announcing that it will work with the new
Palestinian unity government, sworn in earlier Monday. In strikingly
bitter comments, officials said that rather than cooperating with a
government backed by a terror group, Washington ought to be urging
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to disband his pact with
Hamas and resume peace negotiations with Israel.
“We
are deeply disappointed by the comments of the State Department
regarding working with the Palestinian unity government. This
Palestinian government is a government backed by Hamas, which is a
terror organization committed to Israel’s destruction,” Israeli
government officials said. “If the US administration wanted to advance
peace, it should be calling on Abbas to end his pact with Hamas and
return to peace talks with Israel,” they added. “Instead, it is enabling
Abbas to believe that it is acceptable to form a government with a
terrorist organization.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and
the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem declined to comment on the record.
Earlier Monday, Israel’s senior ministers decided to boycott the new
government, since it is backed by Hamas, designated a terrorist
organization by Israel and the US.
Earlier on Monday, State Department
spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US believes Abbas has “formed an interim
technocratic government…that does not include members affiliated with
Hamas.” Therefore, she added, “With what we know now, we will work with
this government.”
Psaki did say, however, that Washington “will
continue to evaluate the composition and policies of the new government
and if needed we’ll modify our approach.” She later added that the
administration would be “watching carefully to make sure” that the unity
government upholds the principles that serve as preconditions for
continuing US aid to the PA.
Psaki’s announcement was a major surprise to
Israeli leaders; sources in Washington had been quoted in Israel in
recent days saying the US would not immediately recognize the new PA
government.
As recently as Sunday, Secretary of State John
Kerry called Abbas and “expressed concern about Hamas’s role in any
such government and the importance that the new government commit to the
principles of nonviolence, recognition of the state of Israel and
acceptance of previous agreements with it,” Psaki had said.
Earlier Monday, Kerry discussed the recent
developments in a phone call with Netanyahu. State Department officials
would not discuss the content of the conversation, or comment on whether
the US administration’s announcement had come as a surprise to the
Israeli government.
Asked if Israel would agree to return to the
negotiating table after it suspended the talks in April, she said that
would be up to the Israeli government to decide.
“It is ultimately up to the parties … to make
the difficult decisions about coming to the negotiating table,” Psaki
said. “So we will see. We are not in a position to make a prediction at
this point.”
Psaki said that the United States is open to
the current plan set out by the interim PA unity government, according
to which long-delayed elections in the Palestinian Authority will be
held in six months’ time.
“As a matter of principle we support
democratic free and fair elections,” Psaki said, but added that “it is
too early to speculate as to what the outcome will be and we will let
events proceed.”
The State Department spokeswoman commented
that although the US continues to expect Abbas to uphold his commitment
to maintaining security coordination with Israel, Hamas’s support for
the current government did not change the American perspective on
culpability for rocket attacks launched toward Israeli targets from the
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
“We expect the PA to do everything in its
power to prevent attacks from Gaza, but we understand that [the] Gaza
Strip is under the control of Hamas,” Psaki explained.
Earlier, in Ramallah, Abbas swore in 17
ministers in a new technocratic government meant to steer the PA toward
elections within six months.
The Israeli cabinet, meanwhile, said on Monday
it would boycott the new PA government and hold it responsible for any
rockets fired at Israel from Gaza.
In a decision approved at a special meeting of
the Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs, Netanyahu and
eight top ministers said they would not deal with the new government and
would form a team to “examine courses of action” in light of the new
Palestinian unity government.
Abbas swore in the ministers Monday afternoon
after Gaza’s Hamas rulers and Abbas’s Fatah resolved a last-minute
disagreement over a key government ministry.
He hailed the “end” of Palestinian division,
saying: “Today, with the formation of a national consensus government,
we announce the end of a Palestinian division that has greatly damaged
our national case.”
Abbas has pledged that the new administration
will abide by the principles laid down by the Middle East peace Quartet
that call for recognizing Israel, rejecting violence and abiding by all
existing agreements, though Hamas has yet to ratify those conditions.
AFP, Elhanan Miller and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is known for publicly questioning the
authenticity of Obama’s birth certificate, claims that he has enough
evidence to make an arrest. Now, he claims his only goal is to figure
out who is behind the forged document.
In an interview with Chris Pareja on KMTV 15, Arpaio claims that it
is his goal to take down anyone who has been involved in the process.
Arpaio has started a group led by investigator Mike Zullo, which will be
used to track down the origin of the certificate. The group claims that
the long form birth certificate had over 20 different forgeries within
it.
Arpaio went on to explain that his investigation has shifted from
Obama, and on to who within the Hawaiian government helped him commit
the crime.
“Nobody wants to touch it, but I’m still trying to find out who was
behind it,” Arpaio claimed in the interview, “It’s a felony! I’m locking
people up every day for forged documents that are here illegally.”
What do you think? Should the public be paying more attention to the questionable documents?
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