The Exchange

President Obama says that he doesn’t apologize for the exchange of five detainees from Guantanamo Bay for one U.S. soldier held captive by enemy combatants (terrorists). Guess what? He doesn’t have to apologize. He is the President of this country. If anything, any GOP or Tea-bagger (both those elected and those who voted said elected officials into office) should be apologizing to the president and every citizen their prejudice driven insanity has affected.

Now, maybe I am too liberal. Hey, when it comes to rights and freedoms and where human decency is concerned – I am guilty as charged. I would rather be guilty of being honest, compassionate and rational than being a hate-filled, fear mongering imbecile any day of any week of any year.

Wake up people. Nobody on this planet has the right to judge any other person on this planet. Especially when it comes to extremely difficult situations and circumstances that those casting stones have never experienced. Yes, even John McCain has no right despite being a former prisoner of war. That was a different war, a different enemy and a different U.S. military.

Now allow me to try to open the narrow minds that think so linear and (literally) black and white in this country. Let me (attempt to) expand those minds to not just thinking outside the box but to shut the hell up so they can hear. Oh, then assist them in “thinking” (period) before opening their “cow-pie” holes.

Do I appear skewed right now? I am. It’s hard not to be because it’s impossible to reason with insanity. It’s impossible to have an intelligent debate with stupidity. And, it’s next to impossible for hate (haters) to acknowledge love. That said, let me dive into my take on how jaded and one-sided the right wing spin killed Rumplestiltskin and replaced him with Rush Limbaugh (and the Fox News Network) to spin gold into cotton candy. Sure, young kids love it and so do many adults. But, cotton candy’s only achievements are rotting teeth and causing diabetes. Gold can save life and sustain it in a truly, healthy state. Unless it’s given to the conservatives who will (almost always) use it to start un-necessary wars and kill people they believe to be “evil.”

So, first we’ll go with the argument that army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was a deserter. This argument opens up two ways as to “why he deserted.” The first possibility is that he was a coward. This seems to be the reason Fox News and others have presented as being true. My answer to this is simple. Why would a guy enlist to go fight in a war where there are no rules of war by the enemy only to go AWOL within that enemy’s country where his chances of being captured by said enemy are so great? Not to mention the fact that torture would be an expectation not a speculation. Even if he eluded the enemy in that country the poverty is so great that his being an American equals money. If he were captured wearing his military uniform that just increases his dollar value. I didn’t know our military allowed people to be recruited with such a low IQ. 

That brings me to the second option. He was deployed and served in a war that, under a smart Commander in Chief, didn’t require so many soldiers to put life and limbs on the line. Yes, President Obama has been much, more intelligent about how he fights the war on terrorism than his predecessor. He doesn’t ignore intelligence gathered and passed along to him and (equally important) he uses our supreme military technology and elite soldiers to fight. That’s why the leader of the Taliban who was befriended by the Bush family was terminated. Bin Laden wasn’t just killed. He was executed in his own home using a handful of Navy Seals or, as I like to call them, elite hit-men. That isn't a derogatory term (hitman) it is a compliment.

However, like many soldiers who fought “the war on terror,” he didn’t agree with what became the reality that went along with the fight. A reality that the Bush administration went to great lengths to hide. A reality that many ordinary citizens of this country (myself included) knew despite the enormity of the pile of bull shit that administration tried to hide. 

If an honest, ethical person with strong moral values is placed in an environment where they were led to believe a job within that environment is in total alignment with their beliefs only to find out they were lied to every step along the way or that there was a much, more complicated storyline it forces that person to make decisions. They must decide whether to be loyal to a cause that is in conflict with their values or to be true to their values in order to maintain their integrity. 

I have been in this situation in past jobs (although none of which were military) where the employees had to adhere to strong ethical codes for these jobs as we were in professions that required government licensure and dealt with human lives. I stuck by my values and the legal, ethical guidelines that put the patients' wellbeing before profits of the company. Needless to say, I did so at the cost of my employment. Despite my being wrongfully terminated, I would do it again knowing it would cost me my job and financial stability because it was the right thing to do.

Only this soldier knows what truly happened. Well, he and God (for you atheists, by God I mean Infinite Intelligence). Let’s not focus on Spiritual matters here folks. That “higher intelligence” could be as simple as our Commander in Chief. After all, he knows things that only he and few others know and cannot be shared with the public. He has the hardest job in the world. He has to take information or “intelligence” and weigh out collateral damage against benefits for every citizen in the country. I believe a soldier’s life ranks quite high on the chain of overall citizenship when decisions are made. 

Now, I looked at the list of those released from Guantanamo which was reported by CNN. Given that there should be scrutiny applied to whatever information is available to someone like myself or, better still, the media (chuckles)… Let’s just say that President Obama hasn’t taken prisoners and sent them to Guantanamo. He has terminated their contracts as tenants upon this planet. The prisoners held in Cuba were captured by the former Clown in Chief. They were tortured. Many were water-boarded. 

Just because the conservative citizens get their information from “the news,” (chuckles again) doesn’t mean the information is reliable. Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and other sources who are prejudiced and biased – rarely reporting facts – mostly reporting opinions. Not even rational opinions folks. I know what I am writing right now is “my opinion.” But, I am not representing myself as a “news outlet.” I am a writer with a degree in social work and I, unlike Fox news, am not trying to suggest I know better than the President of the United States about the facts leading to his decision.

Now that the “deserter option” has been explored let’s explore the option that none of the Obama haters even bring to light. What if he stepped away to clear his mind or evaluate his place within the greater good. Maybe he just went too far from his fellow soldiers who (like many who signed up) are there to "kill them some camel jockeys." That is not a term I use to describe people from that region in the world, but I have heard it tossed around freely by many soldiers, black-water contractors and everyday prejudiced people. Maybe he couldn’t stand another second of whatever was taking place at that moment. What if he was so fed up he got stupid. Stupid enough to wander away into enemy hands who were sitting there waiting. Sizing up whether or not they should attack the very men from who he wandered away. Is that possible? Anything is possible. Do not be so ignorant to think there is only one solution to a non-mathematical problem.

With that all said, now let’s turn our “open minds” toward those who were released in exchange for the life of an American soldier. Let’s say that all five were the huge pieces of shit that was reported to the various news organizations who, in turn, reported to the public. I can see how that’s a huge deal to those who have opposed President Obama from day one. But, even if they are the scum-sucking wastes of space reported, I will not lose sleep because they aren’t locked up at Guantanamo any longer. Well, at least not while President Obama is still our Commander in Chief. Why? Because, as I said before, he is an O.G. with a Harvard degree and he knows exactly what he is doing. He has protected the citizens of this country in a smarter, less costly manner than the rationally challenged former president. 

Do you really believe that, if these men truly are who everyone believes them to be, our president will not have their whereabouts and what-abouts (I know it’s not a real word – I’m creative that way) known to him at all times? I don’t care if you like him (our president) or not people. At least acknowledge that he is a smart man. Not only is he smarter than everyone complaining about every little move he makes combined, but he is calm. That makes him a wonderful decision maker when shit comes raining down all around and there isn’t anything to stand under until the storm passes.

Feel free to buy into the hype and rhetoric that the intellectually inept spray out their face all day, every day. I, personally, have my own problems to deal with that make my life difficult on a daily basis. I have confidence in President Obama and I know he’s got this. If we had a senate and a congress who was as well put together as he is then we would all be better off – especially the haters from the negative, fake media.