Taliban leaders that we released to get Bowe Bergdahl back.
Abdul Haq Wasiq
Mullah Mohammad Fazl
Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa
Mullah Norullah Noori
Mohammad Nabi Omari
If you have been watching the news lately then you must have heard about the release of Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier who was held captive for 5 years in Afghanistan. The United States negotiated with Taliban forces for the release of Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five high ranking Taliban leaders. The Taliban leaders were being held in Guantanamo Bay before their release to Qatar. Their release was contingent upon the constant supervision of their activities and a one-year restriction to remain in Qatar. Despite the relief felt by so many for Bergdahl’s release, there are now rumors that Bowe abandoned his squad. These new reports are challenging the legality and morality of the decision that was made with the Taliban in exchange for Bergdahl’s release.
After hearing all of the buzz I had to look more into the situation to understand what exactly was going on here. According to Bowe Berdahl’s old squad members, he abandoned his post and left a note saying that he did not agree with the war and because of that reason he was leaving the military. Another report said that a soldier was killed while on a mission to rescue Bergdahl. If both are true, then I could only wonder why a squad would pursue a “deserter”, as Bergdahl has been called, in the first place. Secondly, why would the U.S. negotiate with the Taliban, which they have never done before, in exchange for a soldier who is so controversial? Furthermore, we gave the Taliban five detainees and they only gave us one, a trade that seems awfully one sided to me.
While the exact details of the story will likely remain a secret, there are some facts that we could observe like the identity of the five terrorists who were released to Qatari officials. Listed above, these five terrorists were all high ranking officers in the Taliban. People are saying that it is likely that these men will return to their terrorist activities as soon as their one year probation is over. However, I wonder if the real problem is that they return or that their release was the direct result of negotiation with a well-known terrorist cell in Afghanistan.
I wonder what all of the people calling Bowe Bergdahl a “deserter” would do if they were dropped into a war that they knew was wrong. Would they continue to kill people for reasons that they themselves cannot explain? I ask this question because I hear so many people saying that Bowe Bergdahl should have been left to die in captivity instead of released. The courts are pondering whether or not to put him on trial for those crimes. However, I doubt that half of the people saying these things have been put in a situation like his. Maybe the real question that should be asked is why are U.S. soldiers doubting their responsibilities in Afghanistan in the first place? Maybe, just maybe, these soldiers don’t want to kill the Afghans anymore. Maybe they know that we never should have invaded and occupied a country for the reasons that we did.
I’m not defending either side but I do like questioning everything. If you heard about this story and have your own opinion on what happened then leave a comment. I would love to hear back from you guys and know what you think should be done.
Bowe Bergdahl
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