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riverwalker

(8,694 posts)
Thu Jun 5, 2014, 09:56 AM Jun 2014

Don’t Desert Bergdahl

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2014/06/the_bergdahl_prisoner_exchange_doesn_t_reward_terrorism_it_keeps_our_promise.html

Don’t Desert Bergdahl
Trading Taliban prisoners for a POW doesn’t reward terrorism. It keeps our promise to our troops.


The Code of Conduct for members of the armed forces, published more than half a century ago, details every service member’s obligations to the military and the nation, even in captivity. In exchange, the code promises:


Just as you have a responsibility to your country under the Code of Conduct, the United States government has an equal responsibility—always to keep faith with you and stand by you as you fight for your country. If you are unfortunate enough to become a prisoner of war, you may rest assured that your government will care for your dependents and will never forget you. Furthermore, the government will use every practical means to contact, support and gain release for you and for all other prisoners of war.

The army’s training pamphlet on being a POW repeats this commitment: “Every captured US individual continues to be of special concern to the US. The US government expresses this concern by … employing every available means to establish contact with you and gain your release.” In light of that commitment, it’s unwise to focus, as many critics of the Bergdahl deal do, on the circumstances of his capture. They say he left his post without authorization, provoking search and rescue operations that endangered other troops and led to several deaths. None of these claims has been adjudicated, and some of them are already unraveling. But the larger principle is that our allegiance to our soldiers has to be as solid as their allegiance to us. We don’t have to love their character, any more than they have to love the character of their commanders. In the military, loyalty transcends personality. And loyalty goes both ways.
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Don’t Desert Bergdahl (Original Post) riverwalker Jun 2014 OP
The Code of Conduct underpants Jun 2014 #1
+ 1 nt riderinthestorm Jun 2014 #2
End of story. n/t yallerdawg Jun 2014 #3
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