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Sgt. Bergdahl’s release tests America’s values

Values can be difficult matters.

Take the case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who the world now knows is back in American custody after spending five years as a Taliban prisoner in Afghanistan.

The reason for Bergdahl’s disappearance from his unit remains somewhat murky, but the evidence indicates he was a disillusioned soldier who left his post to start a new life somewhere in the hills along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Before departing, he sent some of his personal belongings home, left weapons and body armor behind, and took off with a small backpack, water, knives and writing materials.

Vigorous—and dangerous—efforts to find Bergdahl followed.  Some sources say at least a half dozen American soldiers died in the subsequent weeks as a result of the searches, but those allegations are difficult to confirm.

The efforts to find Bergdahl then, and now the trade of five dangerous terrorists to get him back, can be classified as a fulfillment of one provision of the Soldier’s Creed: “I will never leave a fallen comrade.”

The same creed, however, also says a soldier is a member of a team who serves the country, lives by the Army values, places the mission first, never accepts defeat and never quits.  Bergdahl appears to have failed each of those directives.

But that doesn’t mean we leave him behind.  One important distinction between a modern society (ours) and a primitive society (the Taliban) is the value placed on each human life.  Were it not for that principle, Bergdahl would be long since forgotten by his country.

President Obama is taking considerable heat for the deal that brought Bergdalh back.  Did we give up too much?  Did we negotiate with terrorists? Why didn’t the President consult Congress?

These are all fair questions, but we should give some deference to the President.  He’s the Commander-in-Chief and privy to certain intelligence that cannot, and should not, be general knowledge.

Still, for the moment, the public relations advantage goes to the Taliban.  It’s a five-for-one deal.  They’re getting heroes of the jihad and we’re getting a dazed and confused deserter.

The dramatic video released by the Taliban showing the prisoner exchange enhances the standing of the Taliban because it depicts the two sides as equals; the United States with all its military power, the “Great Satan,” forced to deal with the Taliban on its terms.

The Taliban gets the last word by superimposing over the video, in English, “Don’t come back to Afghanistan.”  That’s the kind of thing you often hear from the self-satisfied victor in a fight.

That’s a blow to American standing and prestige.  But we did not leave a soldier behind. Values matter, and they have a price.





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