Bowe Bergdahl

A New Commentary Each Wednesday June 11, 2014

Bowe Bergdahl: A modest appraisal from the heartland

Physicians at our military hospital in Germany declare that the soldier is not yet able to deal with the psychological and emotional challenges that scrutiny of his behavior in Afghanistan would cause.

Since this observer has had absolutely no training in this field, we are reduced to speculating on what the particulars in the matter are.

I am reminded of the famous Patty Hearst trial. After being kidnapped in 1976 by a small group of revolutionaries, the heiress to the Hearst publishing empire was accused of joining the radical Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) and participating in a crime spree that included a bank robbery. At the time, a photograph of Ms. Hearst holding a rifle in a bank hold-up, was circulated widely by the media.

After the group was cornered and leaders were killed in a shoot-out with police, Hearst was charged with willingly participating in the hold-up, and other crimes, as well.

Renowned defense attorney F. Lee Bailey brought in experts who attempted to prove that his client had been subjected to such close confinement, sexual assault and mind-altering drugs, that she had been brain washed into joining the SLA.

A group of Swedish psychiatrists had then recently theorized that captives could be made to sympathize with their captors. The name "Stockholm Syndrome" was derived from the 1973 bank robbery in Stockholm, where four hostage were held for six days, after which each began to defend the actions of the robbers to the extent that they even rebuked efforts made to rescue them. It's a mental defense mechanism, said the Swedish shrinks. I'm inclined to believe that this could happen.

The jury in the Hearst trial didn't buy the idea. Hearst was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. This was later shortened to seven years by a judge, and finally President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence after she had served 21 months. Carter hedged his bet by imposing heavy parole obligations.

I rehash that story because much will be made of how Bergdahl was treated during those long five years.

The paramount question however is: what was the soldier's state of mind before he walked away from his post?

Now as for the trade: Bergdahl for five Taliban terrorists, heretofore guests of the U.S. taxpayers at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. For some insight, any layperson can Google the Rand Corporation, a non-profit organization, respected for providing objective analysis.

Of the 614 prisoners released so far from Guantanamo, 104 are reported to have already returned to the battlefield and 74 more are suspected to have rejoined the Taliban. That's roughly 30% recidivism.

A handful of these have already been re-captured of killed, so to some extent Secretary of State Kerry is on target (pun intended) when he says, "We know how to get these guys."

As of this date, there are 149 prisoners still be held in Guantanamo at an outrageous cost, principally because each detainee is served by at least 20 personnel.

Of a far worse perspective, is the rise of al-Qaida incidents of terrorism around the world; the prime example of which is the Benghazi attack, still mired in controversy. The Rand Corporation analysis attributes a 900% increase in terrorist acts since 2002 (101), with 929 recorded in 2013. Since the death of bin Laden, there has been a resurgence in al-Qaida.

Of major significance: a civil war is beginning to rage in major cities in Iraq, and in Syria, led by a breakaway group of al-Qaida insurgents, "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant." Earlier this year, the extremist group took Fallujah in western Iraq and this week overwhelmed government forces, mostly Shiites, in Iraq's second largest city of Mosul.

This layperson's response: We need lots more drones and the facilities that control them. Now.

-Phil Richardson, Observer and Storytellers.

Phil's current post can be read at: http://www.imrightagain.com

If you wish to comment, Phil can be reached at:

k7os (at) comcast (dot) net

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