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bobGandolf

(871 posts) Wed Nov 20, 2019, 08:31 AM Nov 2019

14

Why is Trump meddling with the jailed Special Forces?

Could he be currying favor with the soldiers as he begins building his Palace Guard? I KNOW, where is my tinfoil hat..but I am wondering why he would even care.....what's in it for him?

..."Late last week, President Trump pardoned two service members and reversed the demotion of a third, each of whom was accused of war crimes."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/11/19/trump-pardons-people-accused-war-crimes-because-he-thinks-war-should-be-savage/

19 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Why is Trump meddling with the jailed Special Forces? (Original Post) bobGandolf Nov 2019 OP

Oliver North and the NRA? Deb Nov 2019 #1

Must be one of 2naSalit Nov 2019 #2

Everything he does is quid pro quo. Claritie Pixie Nov 2019 #3

Nice to know.. bobGandolf Nov 2019 #11

... favor of (dirty, criminal) soldiers who might lash out on his behalf. NightWatcher Nov 2019 #4

why? He sees this a way to poke democrats/liberals and it did BUT the sideeffect is pissing the beachbumbob Nov 2019 #5

Pay attention to the dates JHB Nov 2019 #6

He is married to one of my former students. Freedomofspeech Nov 2019 #7

On MJ this morning they said that the Navy is proceeding Ilsa Nov 2019 #8

I thought.. bobGandolf Nov 2019 #12

He's meddling with the UCMJ and undermining military law... cynatnite Nov 2019 #9

He's always playing to his Deplorables, in this case their Rambo fantasies UTUSN Nov 2019 #10

Trump has to feed the jingoists in his base every once in while-He might need them for his civil war NCLefty Nov 2019 #13

Just the sort of thing bush/cheney would have done pecosbob Nov 2019 #14

He identifies with the special operations troops. JustABozoOnThisBus Nov 2019 #15

Bah, haha... bobGandolf Nov 2019 #16

Because of Fox News and Guilliani, of course. Seriously. GoCubsGo Nov 2019 #17

Ruth Ben-Ghiat nails the reasoning, I think NewJeffCT Nov 2019 #18

TrumPutin already knows these criminals will do anything. Now he owns them. Hermit-The-Prog Nov 2019 #19

Deb

(3,742 posts)

1. Oliver North and the NRA?

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 08:40 AM

Nov 2019

2naSalit

(86,775 posts)

2. Must be one of

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 08:41 AM

Nov 2019

Erik Prince's pals. I suppose he has assembled a "private army" with the help of that mercenary leader.

Claritie Pixie

(2,199 posts)

3. Everything he does is quid pro quo.

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 08:41 AM

Nov 2019

He pardoned these men for a reason; they owe him now and he will expect loyalty in whatever he asks them to do.

You're not crazy for thinking this way.

bobGandolf

(871 posts)

11. Nice to know..

Reply to Claritie Pixie (Reply #3)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 12:35 PM

Nov 2019

I'm not the only one whose ears perked up.

NightWatcher

(39,343 posts)

4. ... favor of (dirty, criminal) soldiers who might lash out on his behalf.

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 08:43 AM

Nov 2019

That's who he's messaging.

beachbumbob

(9,263 posts)

5. why? He sees this a way to poke democrats/liberals and it did BUT the sideeffect is pissing the

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 08:47 AM

Nov 2019

military off. The really do take war crimes seriously

JHB

(37,161 posts)

6. Pay attention to the dates

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 09:01 AM

Nov 2019

Last edited Wed Nov 20, 2019, 09:39 AM - Edit history (1)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathew_L._Golsteyn

Golsteyn graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2002. He was commissioned into the army and was recommended for discharge, following an inquiry, in 2015.[5] The inquiry allowed him to keep his veteran's benefits.[6][4] In 2011, then Captain Golsteyn was awarded a Silver Star, for actions in February 2010; however, the award was revoked in 2015, after an investigation into an rules-of-engagement violation by Golsteyn in 2010.[7][8]
Killing of Alleged Afghan bomb-maker

In 2010 Golsteyn was part of Operation Moshtarak, a campaign to liberate the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, from the Taliban. In February, a bomb killed two Marines who had been working under Golsteyn's command. Golsteyn and his team searched the nearby village for the bomb-maker, whom they believed was a local named Rasoul. A tribal leader alleged that Rasoul was a member of the Taliban. According to the Army, the leader did not want Rasoul released and feared that if he was released that he would kill the tribal leader. According to an interview with the CIA in 2011, Golsteyn claimed that another soldier had later taken the alleged bomb-maker off base, and then shot and killed him. Golsteyn said that he later helped burn the body. After this revelation, the Army investigated the case, but closed it with no charges in 2013.[9]

In November 2016, Golsteyn was a guest on a Fox news show. Asked by host Bret Baier if he had killed the suspected bomb-maker, Golsteyn responded "yes". Golstyen's admission led to the Army reopening the case.[9]

Who was president when it happened? At the time of the initial investigation? At the time it was re-opened?

Wingnuts have held Golsteyn up as an example of how Democrats in general and Obama specifically persecute All-American Heroes(tm) Doing Their Duty(tm). It thumps the same drum Republicans have been beating since Vietnam, about how "chickenshit gummint byoooreacrats stabbed us in the back/made us fight with one arm tied behind our back". This crowd also isn't too keen on the idea of Americans being prosecuted for war crimes under any circumstances, no matter what was done.

In other words, once again Trump plays to his base and in his own mind gets another dig at Obama.

Freedomofspeech

(4,227 posts)

7. He is married to one of my former students.

Reply to JHB (Reply #6)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 09:21 AM

Nov 2019

I had unfriended her on facebook years ago before this all came out because she was always spewing garbage about President Obama. These evil men should have never been pardoned....trump is telling the world that war crimes are just dandy.

Ilsa

(61,697 posts)

8. On MJ this morning they said that the Navy is proceeding

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 11:57 AM

Nov 2019

with removing the trident designation from those SEALs that they know are guilty, whether trump intervenes or not. It looks like the Navy is trying to police their own, no matter what trump wants.

bobGandolf

(871 posts)

12. I thought..

Reply to Ilsa (Reply #8)

Thu Nov 21, 2019, 01:22 AM

Nov 2019

the armed services would react negatively to his meddling in their affairs.

cynatnite

(31,011 posts)

9. He's meddling with the UCMJ and undermining military law...

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 12:00 PM

Nov 2019

I'm guessing he's doing it for his rabid base.

UTUSN

(70,725 posts)

10. He's always playing to his Deplorables, in this case their Rambo fantasies

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Wed Nov 20, 2019, 12:02 PM

Nov 2019

NCLefty

(3,678 posts)

13. Trump has to feed the jingoists in his base every once in while-He might need them for his civil war

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Thu Nov 21, 2019, 02:31 AM

Nov 2019

And this doesn't curry favor with any good (honorable) soldiers. It should piss them off to no end. More bad actors will do horrible things now and the entire military will be smeared with it.

pecosbob

(7,542 posts)

14. Just the sort of thing bush/cheney would have done

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Thu Nov 21, 2019, 07:10 AM

Nov 2019

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,363 posts)

15. He identifies with the special operations troops.

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Thu Nov 21, 2019, 07:35 AM

Nov 2019

He looks at a Special Forces soldier, and sees himself. It's like a mirror of his young, vigorous, self.

If it weren't for some bone spurs, you wouldn't believe what a special soldier he would have been.

This from a former, very un-special, army draftee.

bobGandolf

(871 posts)

16. Bah, haha...

Reply to JustABozoOnThisBus (Reply #15)

Fri Nov 29, 2019, 06:47 AM

Nov 2019

thanks, brought a big smile to my face.

GoCubsGo

(32,086 posts)

17. Because of Fox News and Guilliani, of course. Seriously.

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Fri Nov 29, 2019, 08:54 AM

Nov 2019

Perhaps it’s because Gallagher’s legal team includes two Trump friends who are also former partners of his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani: investigator Bernard Kerik, who is a former New York police commissioner and also a convicted felon; and Marc Mukasey, who represents Trump in a New York bank-records case. Another Gallagher advocate has been Fox News commentator Pete Hegseth, who reportedly has been represented by Tim Parlatore, Gallagher’s lead lawyer.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/insurgents-lobbied-trump-for-war-crimes-pardons-with-little-pentagon-involvement-officials-say/2019/11/21/b6a0c62e-0c75-11ea-bd9d-c628fd48b3a0_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-sabotaging-his-military/2019/11/21/6b46199e-0cad-11ea-97ac-a7ccc8dd1ebc_story.html

NewJeffCT

(56,828 posts)

18. Ruth Ben-Ghiat nails the reasoning, I think

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Fri Nov 29, 2019, 10:53 AM

Nov 2019

She's an NYU professor and a leading expert on authoritarianism

Link to tweet

?s=20

Authoritarian leaders love to issue pardons and amnesties (Mussolini 1925, Pinochet 1978, Trump 2017-) because it ties pardoned people to them, frees up more criminals to serve them, and sends the message that lawlessness is valued.

Hermit-The-Prog

(33,409 posts)

19. TrumPutin already knows these criminals will do anything. Now he owns them.

Reply to bobGandolf (Original post)

Fri Nov 29, 2019, 12:45 PM

Nov 2019

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