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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBergdahl Not Alone in Disillusionment
https://www.freespeech.org/video/bergdahl-not-alone-disillusionmentDemocracy Now
Video at link~
Bergdahl Not Alone in Disillusionment
"We have to understand what {Bergdahl) was going through," says Charles Glass, a historian and former ABC News chief Middle East correspondent.. "The young person at the front line, having believed in his country's mission in Afghanistan and discovering it was not at all what he was told it was, and saw himself as part of the mechanism of oppression, of killing people, of going into villages, and when trying to take out enemy combatants was killing families. I hope that we'll understand what he went through and have compassion for him and his family."
global1
(25,290 posts)ashling
(25,771 posts)a full reprise
same plot - different war
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)deutsey
(20,166 posts)That's why it keeps getting kicked off NPR stations.
Can't be letting the plebes hear anything other than the official narrative.
I was very upset when WETS got rid of DN.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)I have coffee with Amy every morning, and I get Link TV as a bonus.
bobalew
(323 posts)And you get BOTH free spech TV AND LinkTV
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)and prior to his exiting the military, HE said some pretty disparaging stuff about the military
https://www.facebook.com/joshua.cornelison
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)Look at his this comment on that page:
Karen Garringer - Boy! Mr Josh, it was just yesterday that you were in my Sunday school class and now you are on Fox News! Proud of you Josh! Keep up the great work!! And always be safe!!! Praying for you and everyone else who has served and are serving! You are AWESOME!!! Love ya
smallcat88
(426 posts)share his disillusionment. Most Americans have never been over there. Remember the unity this country felt after 9/11? The Bush administration played on that in order to sell us their lies. I'm surprised there aren't a lot more Bergdahls. Most of the country became disillusioned after the lies of WMD's were exposed. Can't imagine what it must be like to be there firsthand and see just how full of shit the whole 'liberation' thing is.
From everything I've heard about him, Bergdahl sounds like a kid going through that 'find myself' stage. He's at the right age. It's a stage that the right wing crazies skipped altogether. In the end, he stands a far better chance of eventually becoming a whole person than the nut jobs on the right. He just needs a chance to heal and as much support as we can give him.
valerief
(53,235 posts)Fla Dem
(23,818 posts)Shemp Howard
(889 posts)There was enormous (roughly 90%) unity about getting Bin Laden. And not just in the United States. That was true in much of the rest of the world as well.
And Bush II squandered all of it...in the worst possible way.
smallcat88
(426 posts)That's what I meant. Suppose I should have been a little more precise.
Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)How many of the political pundits served? Cheney had 5 deferrments, William Kristol did not serve, Rove, Piebus and many others including W did not serve. W wore the uniform, but was strangely absent for most of his tour of duty. The people saying Bergdahl's father looks like the Taliban, should take another look at the religious nut Duck Dynasty fatherIf these people think they have all the answers, then why don't they run for office? The group of misfits the gop runs are laughable, but will show up again this time. Perry, Cain, Santorum, Gingrich, Huckerbee, Jeb (supposedly the smart one, but how smart would one have to be in THAT family to be the smart one?) Maybe Mr. 9/11 himself will run again, his ugly mug does not show up on TV often enough to please him. The statesman-like little Johnny McCain might try again, but with a SANE VP candidate this time?The gop has NOBODY who can command respect, or admiration.
hamsterjill
(15,224 posts)All that father was doing was EVERYTHING that he could to get through the last five years and hope to have his son safe again.
There is not one damn Repuke who, if given the same circumstances, would not hail that as honor - IF the person doing it were a Republican.
God, country and family, you know - unless it's not one of "them".
valerief
(53,235 posts)they've been conned, it's like Captain Obvious has shown up and told them they're not part of the solution but part of the problem. Imagine the anger they must feel.
I've said it before, but a lot of the issues I have as a result of the war probably wouldn't be there if I could say to myself "I did some terrible things, but at least the world is a better place as a result". Instead I get to say to myself "I did some pretty shitty things in the war and it was all for nothing".
The word "angry" is an understatement. I do realize I wasn't drafted like the Vietnam era guys, but that doesn't alleviate any of the feelings. If anything, that makes me feel worse. What kind of person knowingly joins the Army to so they can go to another country to kill people in a war based on vengeance? I was flat out duped by my upbringing and our society into thinking that we had learned our lessons from our previous engagements into thinking that something like the war on Iraq would never happen again.
I joined the Army in 1997 after seeing events in the Balkans unfold. I would have been proud to be a part of a mission like that. Instead of stopping a bloody war, I found myself perpetrating one.
valerief
(53,235 posts)The Lying Machine, because that's what it is.
Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)I never believed in the war on Iraq, yet I found myself leading a platoon in combat in Iraq in 2004. I talked and confided with my family my feelings about the war and I even told my Company Commander near the end of my deployment that I didn't believe in the war either. My boss was absolutely shocked that I wasn't a believer as I received a stellar OER (officer evaluation report) and did a phenomenal job out in our sector.
I busted my ass in that war not so much to further the American cause, but because it was the right thing to do for the guys serving to my right and left. Doing a good job and giving a mission that I never believed in 110% was the best way I could figure out how to ensure that as many of my guys as possible could/would make it home.
I would guess that in my unit in 2004 that only about 1/3 of the guys were probably "believers". The rest of us were pissed off for being in Iraq.
Scarsdale
(9,426 posts)Thank you for your service, and the good you did for your fellow servicepeople. I never agreed with the war, anyone could see it was a farce from the start. Remember Cheney "They will greet us (us meaning young servicepeople) with flowers" "The oil will pay for the war" Not after he divided up the oil fields with his energy co-horts. That war was "in the works" before 9/11. How many of those war hawks enriched themselves, while young people came home in body bags? The body bags were not to be seen, even Barbara Bush said "Who cares how many body bags there are" Her family enriched themselves. The people were sold a bill of goods. Anyone who STILL believes this was a worthy cause, well, get your head out of wherever you have it crammed.
Half-Century Man
(5,279 posts)which always played according to the rules of fair play, condemned to run ambushes in the deep green of Viet Nam. How do you acquaint a Claymore mine with "Good guys face their enemies fairly in the street" message drummed into them for their entire childhood?
SamKnause
(13,112 posts)'Democracy Now", was EXCELLENT today !
The last segment on cutting carbon emissions was exceptionally interesting.
3 states are exempt (unfortunately I live in one, Ohio) They do not have to reduce their emissions, they can raise the carbon output.
The 30% reduction equation starts with the year 2005, when U.S. carbon emissions were higher.
The U.S. has already lowered it's emissions considerably.
This causes a much lower percentage in actual reduction.
http://www.democracynow.org/
Shemp Howard
(889 posts)All of what Charles Glass said is most probably true. But one more thing needs to be examined. Perhaps Bergdahl realized just how the war was going to end...a lost cause...another Vietnam in the making.
All that killing and all that destruction, for nothing.
Does that excuse Bergdahl IF he deserted? I don't know. But it might play a role here.
FairWinds
(1,717 posts)is that Bergdahl was correct in his assessment of the average U.S. soldier/sailor/airman.
They have zero respect for the people living in the countries occupied and/or invaded by the U.S..
I saw the same thing in Vietnam - Rampant racism directed against the people we were
supposedly helping. Our South Vietnamese allies were referred to as "slopes", "slants", "gooks", or
"zips" (zero intelligence personnel) - almost never with any sort of respect,
That is a main reason why I joined Veterans For Peace.
This deserves much more discussion - perhaps its own thread.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)I hope you create one. It would be great to hear from you and other vets re: demonizing the other.