2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumRichard Grenell, the 'Republican strategist' behind the Bergdahl story
Big hat tip to Thom Hartmann for highlighting this last night. I'm ashamed for not suspecting within 0.000001 seconds that this whole thing was being orchestrated by one entity with a dog whistle. Apparently I am doomed to perpetual gullibility.
There are links galore for this story. I chose the BBC as the least partisan of the lot.
ETA: Despite my searching for "Richard Grenell" at DU, my search did not turn up this existing DU thread by DonViejo: The Bowe Bergdahl Story Is Right-Wing Crack. DonViejo explicitly names Richard Grenell. So hat tip to DonViejo too. But not to the search engine.
The 'Republican strategist' behind the Bergdahl story
3 June 2014 Last updated at 18:56 ET
By Anthony Zurcher
Editor, Echo Chambers
On Tuesday the New York Times published an article about the anger felt by several members of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl's Army unit over the circumstances of his disappearance and capture by Taliban forces. ... As reported in this blog on Monday, these soldiers and some other veterans felt that Mr Bergdahl had actually deserted his post, and the resulting search-and-rescue operation had put their lives in danger - and possibly resulted in the deaths of fellow troops. ... The Times story, while generally similar to pieces in other media outlets, contained a line that attracted particular interest:"Yes, I'm angry," Joshua Cornelison, a former medic in Sgt Bergdahl's platoon, said in an interview on Monday arranged by Republican strategists.
....
So who were these "Republican strategists"? And was the fact that interviews with individuals critical of Mr Bergdahl's actions might have been offered to media outlets by partisan operatives - a "GOP-run dog-and-pony show", in the words of Gawker's Adam Weinstein - a relevant fact?
"What exactly is going on here?" writes MSNBC's Steve Benson. "The release of an American POW from his Taliban captors in Afghanistan has become a political operation in which Republican strategists direct reporters to specific sources?" ... It didn't take long for the media manhunt to find their quarry - former George W Bush administration official and Fox News commentator Richard Grenell.
Buzzfeed's Rosie Gray and Kate Nocera discovered that one of the soldiers quoted by the Times and others, Cody Full, had taken to Twitter to thank Mr Grenell yesterday for "helping get our platoon's story out" in a tweet.
Who Are the GOP Strategists Running the Anti-Bowe Bergdahl Show?
Gothmog
(145,839 posts)okaawhatever
(9,478 posts)nilesobek
(1,423 posts)to try and get to PBO its an indication of their desperation. They know they are facing another 8 years of a Democratic Presidency. They will do and say anything to get what they want.
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,727 posts)By David Fahrenthold and Jaime Fuller, Published: June 6
For Americas political class, the plight of Bergdahl the last soldier held captive in either Iraq or Afghanistan was once a straightforward matter. They wanted him free. ... Then he was free. And people from both parties didnt know what to think about him anymore.
On Sunday, for instance, national security adviser Susan Rice had praised Bergdahl in the hours after he was released. The soldier served the United States with honor and distinction, she said then.
But on Friday, Rice said she had been misunderstood and only meant to praise Bergdahl for joining the Army in the first place.
What I was referring to is the fact that this was a young man who volunteered to serve his country in uniform at a time of war. That is itself a very honorable thing, Rice said in an interview on CNN.
....
david.fahrenthold@washpost.com
jaime.fuller@washpost.com
I get the print edition of the WaPo. Even though the chief orchestrator, or one of the chief orchestrators, behind this has been named in several publications and websites, his name did not appear once in the article. That's some really hardhitting journalism there, WaPo.
There are already over 5,000 comments. Wow, that's a lot.