In her weekly column, conservative columnist and author Michelle Malkin details five years’ worth of conversations she has had with both active and retired servicemen who were deeply familiar with the circumstances surrounding Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s disappearance and capture. On radio this morning, Malkin joined Glenn to discuss her exclusive report about Bergdahl’s desertion.
While Malkin’s exclusive report was published this week, she raised many of the questions are now hearing tossed around the media five years ago when Bergdahl was first captured. In her latest column, Malkin writes:
Five years ago, I publicly raised questions about Bowe Bergdahl’s desertion from Blackfoot Company, 1-501 Infantry (Airborne), 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.
A few weeks after his so-called “capture” in late June 2009, three conflicting accounts had surfaced: U.S. officials told the Associated Press Bergdahl had “walked off” the base with three Afghans; the Taliban claimed on its website that “a drunken American soldier had come out of his garrison” and into their arms; and Bergdahl claimed in his Taliban “hostage video” that he had “lagged behind a patrol” before being captured.
I asked on my blog: Were the AP’s sources mistaken? Or is the disturbing first account the right one? What about the “three Afghans” who Pfc. Bergdahl reportedly “just walked off” with after his shift? Who are they? What’s going on?
Five years ago, one of the brave soldiers who risked his life to search for Bergdahl answered my questions and I published his statement on July 20, 2009:
“I know the story and the accounts that he was drunk or that he was lagging behind on patrol are not true– this soldier planned this move for a long time. He walked off the post with a day’s supply of water and had written down before that he wanted to live in the mountains…he is an embarrassment to everyone who has worn the uniform.”
She goes on to quote a source that remains anonymous because he still “holds a highly sensitive position.” The source recounts much the horror he and his comrades have been living through in the aftermath of Bergdahl’s release.
Her source is quite clear about the legality of the actions the Obama Administration took to secure Bergdahl’s release:
“The fact that our government negotiated with terrorists and our enemy is incomprehensible. The fact that they exchanged five war criminals for a traitor is sickening. The worst part for those of us that suffered through that time is that PFC Bergdahl is being hailed as some kind of hero. He was automatically promoted to Specialist and Sergeant, ranks he does not deserve and did not earn. I have no doubt he will receive back pay for these past five years, a substantial sum. There will be book deals, and his family are celebrities. I am glad he is safe, and happy for his family, but he should return home to face a court martial.”
Read Malkin’s column in its entirety HERE.
With all of this in mind, Glenn asked Malkin what she believes this release is really about.
“It's transparent, of course, that this desperate weekend move to look like a hero and stand by a soldier who was not left behind really was a diversionary tactic that blew up in their face,” Malkin explained. “The death toll from the Veterans Affairs scandal just keeps piling up and… there's [bloodstains] all over the White House to no longer be white-washed by a previously compliant lapdog media that is also finally coming to attention.”
As Malkin explained, the VA scandal might actually prove to be the most damaging for the Obama Administration because local media outlets are not going to let the stories of abuse be swept under the rug. Knowing they were in deep trouble, Malkin believes the Administration orchestrated a series of photo ops for both Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama.
“I think one of the reasons why the VA scandal has been so treacherous for the Administration is that they can't just blame it on Glenn Beck, and Michelle Malkin, and rabid opponents of Barack Obama because so many of those stories are coming out of local media outlets that are committed to covering their veteran population. So you can't squelch that,” she said. “Well, then, what do you do? Hey, you send Biden to the Air Force Academy, and Obama to West Point, and then to Afghanistan, and then back home to stand by the Bergdahl parents who opened their mouths and revealed very compelling truths about where these people really stand.”
As more and more damning information is reveled about Bergdahl and the circumstances surrounding his release, Glenn asked Malkin what she believes will come next.
“I think that there's a serious case for impeachment,” Malkin said. “And I think it's the one issue – when we're dealing with… men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line for us and their commander-in-chief betrays them and endangers them even further… it behooves me to remind people that this is just the tip of the iceberg. All of the others who've been abandoned and left behind by this President have to be remembered as well.”
