Special to WorldTribune.com
President Obama’s decision to swap five Taliban commanders held in Guantanamo in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdhal will no doubt go down in history as one of America’s darkest hours.
We traded so much more than men. We traded our integrity as a nation. We put the entire globe at greater risk by emboldening our enemy.
The Obama administration risked our security in exchange for a deserter. And now it is clear they are trying to pressure the military not to follow the usual procedure to deal with such treachery in our armed forces. A military investigation has been completed into why Bergdhal walked off his base in Afghanistan in 2009, leading to his capture by insurgents. Yet, Army Gen. Mark Milley has not decided whether Bergdhal will be charged with desertion.
To make matters worse, we now know that at least one of the swapped Taliban commanders has made contact with terrorist networks in Qatar.
Bergdhal is a coward who turned his back on his nation and watched brothers die attempting his rescue.
A poignant image surfaced last year that depicted his exchange and homecoming with precision. A soldier’s boots are seen crossing the Atlantic, using American flag-draped coffins for footing. The caption reads: Bergdhal makes his way home.
But more troubling than Bergdahl’s cowardice is the administration that gave him the opportunity to disgrace us. This administration bent over and negotiated with savages. The “Taliban five” were terrorists. We knew it. The administration knew it.
Good men risked their lives to capture them. Some offered their last full measure hunting these creatures. And we set them free for a traitor.
I remember a conversation I had with my son Aaron, who was serving as a Navy SEAL: “Mom, I would take my own life before I would ever allow myself to be taken captive.”
His statement, though difficult to hear, was rooted in clarity. He understood the nature of the monsters he fought. The images of Fallujah 2004 were seared in his mind: American contractors beaten, burned, hacked, dragged through the streets, then hung from a bridge above a frenzied, blood-thirsty mob. There is no way would he allow his family to be subjected to that type of terror if he could help it.
He also understood that if his captors did not kill him, they would certainly use him as a pawn to harm American interests. He would prefer to die on his feet than return to his native land on his knees. This is the heart of a warrior. This is the mind of a man who knows his enemy.
[Related: Letter from the parents of Aaron Carson Vaughn of SEAL Team VI: Please resign, Mr. President, Aug. 27, 2014]
Our president does not have the fortitude or the moral character to deal with the national security threats we face. After six years as our Commander-in-Chief, overseeing the longest war in America’s history, he still cannot even name the enemy.
“The Taliban is not a terrorist organization,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz — as commentators across the political spectrum scoffed. Watching them scurry for a more comfortable rephrasing of their obvious thought pattern has been amusing.
The Taliban harbored Osama bin Laden. The Taliban killed my son.
Our soldiers have spent the last thirteen years watching the Taliban pillage, rape, torture, and terrorize innocents throughout Afghanistan. And now this president prefers to call them “armed insurgents” for the sole purpose of propping up his dirty, backroom deal for Bergdhal? How dare he?
When dealing with terrorists, Jordan gets it right. “Kill our pilot and we will execute ALL your prisoners,” they warn. This is courage. This is tenacity. This makes me want to stand on my chair and scream: “Yes!”
Terror cannot be negotiated with. It cannot be persuaded. It must be demolished — decimated with actions of equal or greater force.
This enemy has always known they cannot destroy America with guns and tanks. They understand clearly that our major point of weakness is a lack of will to do what must be done when things get ugly.
We are civilized, careful and so cautious. And I am proud of this. But political correctness has clouded our vision. When the very core values of Western Civilization are at risk of being defeated, we must renounce political correctness and do what must be done.
Kill one American. We kill one thousand of you.
Karen Vaughn is the Gold Star Mother of SOC, Navy SEAL Aaron Vaughn – who was killed on August 6th, 2011, while serving in Afghanistan. After her son’s death, Karen and her husband Billy, author of “Betrayed,” have dedicated themselves to defending America’s defenders. She is the founder of “For Our Son” and is the senior military families advisor for Concerned Veterans for America.
The backroom deal for Bergdahl: Obama risked global security, emboldened our enemy added by World Tribune on
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