A Tale of Two Soldiers

The master of distraction is  at it again. Just when we start to ask questions and begin to break apart the Veteran's Administration  mess, our attention is pulled away by the prisoner exchange whereby we return 5 of the Taliban's top guys who were vacationing at Club Gitmo for one misguided Army private who seemed to  be predisposed to going on walkabout (without leave) and seeking the company of  the Taliban. Oh , by the way, we're supposed to be FIGHTING the Taliban, not trying to find their camp so we can join them for s'mores.

At  some point, the Army will determine whether Bowe Bergdahl was, in fact incredibly stupid, a deserter, mentally ill or what. So far, according to his American compatriots, informed opinion is that then-Private (now Sergeant) Bergdahl deserted his post and (possibly willingly) sought out the enemy.

All of which leaves most of us mortals with many more questions than answers.  I fully acknowledge that part of the mission of the brave men and women who man  the front lines to keep us safe is to "leave no man (or woman) behind." But, what price are we, as a nation, to pay for the return  of an Army private who seemed to have no allegiance to his country. According to the President and his minions, we were going to let these guys out of Gitmo anyway. But, if that's the case, why did the President find it so urgent to strike this deal as to (once again) circumvent Congress.

In truth, Congress, given a mere briefing or "heads up," might well have approved this trade. Their reputation is only slightly less "squirrely" than that of the President. Who knows what deals  might have been struck behind closed doors.

The fact remains, however, that the Chief Executive, went around the Constitution yet again. And
the timing of the whole thing is rather questionable when you consider the VA scandal on the front burner until this trade.

Plus, this trade stinks. Those of you who follow auto racing will understand that this trade is something akin to trading A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves for that scion of IndyCar non-performance, Dr. Jack Miller, the racing dentist.

The five Taliban leaders released will almost certainly return to bite us in the proverbial ass at some future time.

In the meantime, we have another Sergeant in custody in a foreign jail. This individual, Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi remains held in a Mexican jail for what appears to be a "wrong turn" which led him back into Mexico by mistake. Unfortunately, Tahmooressi was in possession of three firearms which, while legally owned in the U. S., are a violation of Mexican law. The return of Tahmooressi to the U. S.. should require nothing more than a high-level phone call; Mexico, after all, is supposedly our ally, (unlike the Taliban.) This should be an easy one for the President, if it even had to go that high up the food chain.

Although this  would seem to be an easy way for President Obama to put "points on the board," (a phrase the administration used to describe the trade for Bergdahl,) . we have heard NOTHING about Sgt. Thamooressi aside from crickets. If not for FoxNews Greta VanSusteren, we might not know of Thamooressi at all.

Time will tell how all of this will be resolved. I strongly suspect that Bergdahl will face court martial once he is returned to health; Of course, President Obama could compound his own felony and pardon the alleged deserter. Yet while Bergdahl remains in the headlines, Sgt. Thamooressi remains jailed in Mexico.  It is indeed a bizarro world.