What Were They Thinking?

For John, BLUF:  The Bergdahl rollout was a blooper.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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There has been some talk that Republicans, by raising questions about the release of US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, held POW by the Taliban, are politicizing the issue.  Maybe they are, but frankly my EMails suggest most of the folks, including lots of current and former Service members are unhappy.  For one thing, they think that Sergeant Bergdahl has been mischaracterized by the White House, e.g., calling him a hero.

The other thing is that it seems not just Republicans are voicing concern.  For example, Reporter David Conti of The Pittsburg Tribune reports on Former SecDef and former head of the CIA, Leon Panetta saying, while on a visit to Pittsburg,

I don't fault the administration for wanting to get him back.  I do question whether the conditions are in place to make sure these terrorists don't go back into battle.

It isn't just Republicans.

Even Academics are joining in the discussion.  Here is Professor Jonathan Turley,♠ of George Washington University, granted speaking with Sean Hannity:

Well, unfortunately our system is changing, and it's changing without a debate.  Or even a discussion about what we're going to do in the future when we have a three branch system, a tripartite system but one branch is so dominant.  What's emerging is an imperial presidency, an uber presidency as I've called it, where the president can act unilaterally.  This is only the latest example of that.  What's troubling is that we have a system that has been stable precisely because these are limited and shared powers.  This president has indicated that he's just not willing to comply with some of those aspects.  He told Congress he would go it alone and in our system you're not allowed to go it alone....  Well, I think that the biggest problem we have is that the system itself, if we have a dominant branch, simply begins to shut down in terms of the safeguards.  People don't seem to understand that the separation of powers is not about the power of these branches, it's there to protect individual liberty, it's there to protect us from the concentration of power. That's what is occurring here.  You know, I've said it before, Barack Obama is really the president Richard Nixon always wanted to be.  You know, he's been allowed to act unilaterally in a way that we've fought for decades...

I don't think it would be a stretch to say that the White House misjudged this action, or properly judged the public reaction, hoping to use it as a smoke screen to cover other ongoing issues.  Given the basic rule, I attribute this to error rather than malice.♥

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Professor Turley's writeup at Wikipedia reads like the author is a disappointed Democrat or Progressive.
♥  In case you care, I believe it was right and necessary to bring back Sergeant.  I believe that when he gets home the Army should do a debriefing and if facts warrant, take action, which might include reduction to Private E-1.  That said, I am not advocating a Court Martial and something of that ilk.  Regarding the five released, I don't believe it is the sky falling even some portray it as.  These are mid-level bureaucrats who will be bureaucrats back in Afghanistan in a year.  And, being Aghanis, they will likely not be traveling to far away places.