Obama Paid Too High a Price for #Bergdahl Release, Poll Finds

Yesterday, the ghoulish idiot Steve M. at No More Mister scoffed at polling data finding a plurality of 43 percent saying the Bergdahl trade was the "wrong thing to do." As with any survey, the real juice is in the questions and question wording. And when Americans have been asked to rank the prisoner swap in terms of threats to American forces in the field, the results have been devastating for the White House. Recall the Fox News poll from last week, for example, "Poll: 84 Percent Say #Bergdahl Deal Will Encourage Terrorist Groups to Seize More Soldiers."

And notice how No More Mister conveniently ignores the Pew poll findings he's blogging, on the responses from military families, which I wrote about last night, "Poll: Veteran Households Slam #Bergdahl Swap as 'Wrong Thing to Do...'" Veteran households, to say nothing of active duty military personnel, are increasingly unhappy with this commander-in-chief; and recent polls have shown that most Americans have family members who once served or are currently serving in the military, and the gap among young and old in this demographic is more likely to hurt the Democrat Party in upcoming elections, not least of which in November, where some analysts expect the Bergdahl debacle to disadvantage leftist candidates at the margins.

In any case, No More Mister just happens to be one more loony manifestations of the far-left regressive disconnect from the American mainstream on the disastrous Bergdahl treason-terror exchange.

And now we have more evidence of this out today, at CBS News, "How do Americans view the Bergdahl swap?":

Views differ by political party: most Republicans disapprove of the deal, while just over half of Democrats approve. Among those who have served in the military, 55 percent disapprove of the prisoner swap.

Most Americans -- 56 percent -- say the U.S. paid too high a price to secure Bergdahl's release. Among veterans, that figure rises to 65 percent.

At the video clip Major Garrett stresses the 56 percent finding of too high a price paid by the president.

And the Obama White House sure isn't dismissing the numbers as if the controversy is a faux scandal a la Fox News. Indeed, Obama's thrown Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel under the bus. See Ed Morrissey, at Hot Air, "New WH spin on Taliban 5 swap: Hey, it was Hagel’s call":

Old and busted: The Taliban 5 swap was a demonstration of authority by a Commander in Chief who isn't afraid to act and make the final decision. New hotness: Hey, Chuck Hagel had the final call on the swap! As criticism mounts on Barack Obama over the decision to release five high-ranking and dangerous Taliban commanders in exchange for an American soldier, the White House shifted gears last night in its first briefing to the House — and attempted to shift blame as well...

Also at Legal Insurrection, "Taliban-Bergdahl swap unpopular, so … blame Hagel." (Via Memeorandum.)

Poll Shows Support for Illegal Alien Amnesty

At NYT, "Poll Shows Path to Citizenship Is Favored."

It's 62 percent in favor of a "path to citizenship," with 51 percent of Republicans as well. The poll was conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution, supposedly "nonpartisan" research organizations, but in the case Brookings for sure, reliably leftist.

Here's the survey, "What Americans Want From Immigration Reform in 2014."

The poll completely ignores border security.

So, whatever happens in Congress, they'll keep coming, like an invasion force:

Back From the Colonoscopy

I mentioned my procedure this morning.

The test itself is a cakewalk. It's the bowel-cleansing preparations that were a pain. But I'm clean, no polyps, and I won't have to have it done again for ten years.

I'm reading Instapundit, who's blogged about his colonoscopies quite a bit. Here's the search link, but see especially, "I'M HOME FROM HAVING A COLONOSCOPY":

A colonoscopy isn't just a diagnostic test — if they find polyps, they can remove them, making it virtually certain that you won't get colon cancer. If you skip that because of squeamishness, well, you're just an idiot. Luckily, I was clean and don't have to go back for five years. By then, they may have replaced them with swallowable cameras, with actual scoping only when there’s something that needs fixing. At any rate, though, there aren't many simple safe procedures that can absolutely prevent cancer, and this is one. Don't forego it because you're squeamish.

I'm not sure why folks would be squeamish with the procedure; it was easy. After I was taken into the pre-op area, the nurses had me sign the final forms, hooked up my blood pressure monitor and chest nodes, and inserted the IV. The test itself took 10 minutes at most. The nurses gave me mild drug which was like a relaxant. I had no side effects and went out for a nice breakfast with my wife immediately after.

As noted, the preparation is unpleasant, and from reading around yesterday, avoiding the prep is one of the reasons people have skipped this screening. Perhaps the newer procedures will be coming available soon, like the miniature camera pill that takes images while traveling through your bowel. Until then, I'd do this again tomorrow if I needed to screen against colon cancer.

ISIS Takes Mosul as Iraq Security Forces Flee

At the Other McCain, "Al-Qaeda on the Offensive in Iraq."

And at WSJ, "Militants Overrun Iraq's Second-Largest City as Government Forces Flee: Mosul Strike Is Serious Blow to Baghdad's Efforts to Control Widening Insurgency":

BAGHDAD—Al Qaeda-inspired militants seized control of Iraq's second-largest city on Tuesday in a brazen military operation that underscored the weakness of the Baghdad government across vast swaths of the country.

Hours after government forces fled Mosul in disarray following four days of fighting, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a nationwide "state of maximum preparedness" but didn't indicate whether government forces were mobilizing to retake the Iraqi city, 220 miles north of the capital Baghdad.

The capture of Mosul by rebels linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, is the latest evidence of the weakness and disorganization that have beset Iraq's security forces since the U.S. forces withdrew from the country in December 2011.  It also underlines the group's determination to establish an Islamic emirate encompassing the Iraqi-Syrian frontier, weaken the already fragile Iraqi state and expand the theater of the three-year-old civil war in neighboring Syria.

Residents of Mosul said they were shocked at the ease of the rebel takeover of government buildings, television stations and military installations where U.S.-supplied fighter airplanes, helicopters and other heavy weaponry are based.

"The whole of Mosul collapsed today. We've fled our homes and neighborhoods, and we're looking for God's mercy," said Mahmoud Al Taie, a dentist. "We are waiting to die."

Videos showed victorious insurgents waving black flags emblazoned with an Islamic script—the standard brandished by al Qaeda militants world-wide.

The Obama administration, responding to the fall of Mosul, said ISIS "is not only a threat to the stability of Iraq but a threat to the entire region."

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the group has drawn strength from the Syrian civil war, where it can acquire recruits, weapons and other resources for its fight in Iraq.

Jessica Lewis, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer, said ISIS fighters won a notable victory in Mosul.

"ISIS is designing its campaign around the state that it believes it has already created," said Ms. Lewis, currently research director for the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, D.C.

"I think that means that Iraq is going to start to look more like Syria. It's a gauge of the severity of the conflict and the trajectory that it's on. That's a very bad sign."

More.

RELATED: From Bruce Thornton, at FrontPage Magazine, "The Fruit of Obama’s Abandonment of Iraq,"  and David Webb, at Breitbart, "Precipitous Withdrawal Without a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) Has Consequences."

Activists Hijacking Feminism to Attack Israel at Women's Studies Association Meeting

Well, what else is new?

Still, astonishing leftist hatred. It continues to shock time after time.

From Phyllis Chesler, at Big Peace.

No More Colonoscopies?

Here's this, just as I go today for my first colonoscopy.

At WSJ, "New Ways to Screen for Colon Cancer No More Colonoscopies? Less-Invasive Methods Are Coming."

RELATED: At NYT, "Colon Cancer Screening Saves Lives." (Via Instapundit.)

Hillary Clinton Takes to the Road

If I've said it once I've said it a hundred times: There's no doubt Hillary Clinton is running for president. Her every move is political. Her every statement is measured against the political winds. Right now she's distancing herself from the White House on just about every single decision Obama has made, from Syria to Bergdahl, and that's not even getting into the domestic policy weeds.

My sense (and a bit of a hope) is that she'll be damaged goods in 2016, no matter how hard she tries to distance herself from the imploding Democrat Party brand. She could win the nomination, of course, and still be elected president, mostly as a result of GOP incompetence. But it's going to be extremely difficult for the Dems to extend their hold on the presidency for a third consecutive term, despite all the progressive "analyses" about "inevitable" demographic trends, or what have you. I expect the public to be tired of the Democrats after two terms of Obama. Hillary will be running against Democrat fatigue as much as she will the GOP nominee.

In any case, here's this from yesterday's front-page at the Los Angeles Times, "Hillary Clinton book tour could serve as dry run for a campaign":

She's traveled the country mixing weighty policy pronouncements with joking references to her hair. She's reflected on gender bias and offered career advice to young women, gushed about becoming a grandma and raked in a fortune in speaking fees on the lecture circuit.

After all that — and even having a shoe flung at her at a trash collectors' convention in Las Vegas — Hillary Rodham Clinton takes her flirtation with the 2016 presidential race to a new level this week, beginning a minutely orchestrated book tour that will whisk her coast to coast for a mix of book signings and carefully calibrated television interviews.

Since stepping down as secretary of State 16 months ago, Clinton has managed to effectively freeze out any Democratic competition for the presidential nomination, no small feat in a party with a history of upstarts and upsets — especially for someone who has yet to say whether she even plans to run.

Throughout, she's weathered a relentless degree of scrutiny, her daily travels exhaustively chronicled, her every utterance parsed for meaning. Even matters like her daughter Chelsea's pregnancy are put to the will-or-won't-she test.

"She's got the toughest job in American politics" being the prohibitive front-runner, said Stuart Spencer, a longtime Republican strategist who helped shepherd former California Gov. Ronald Reagan in a years-long trek from Sacramento to the White House. "And she's managed it just about as well as you can."

Clinton's months-long book tour, combined with other stops, appears unprecedented in the annals of both publishing and politics, bearing many of the trappings of a full-fledged presidential campaign. A strike team, to push back Clinton critics, has been stocked with family loyalists and others practiced in aggressive political communication. (Conservatives have set up a counter-operation to offer their interpretation of events recounted in Clinton's 600-plus-page memoir, "Hard Choices." An e-book, "Failed Choices," is being released to coincide with her travels.)

A busload of Clinton supporters, chartered by a friendly political action committee, will follow the non-candidate to events and seek to sign up new acolytes; one of her first book signings is scheduled for a Costco in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, the battleground portion of a battleground state. A Los Angeles stop is scheduled for June 19 at the Grove shopping center.

Her TV appearances, including a visit with the cheery crew on "Good Morning America" and a grilling on the less-amiable Fox News Channel, will allow Clinton a chance to spotlight two sides of her persona, warmth and toughness, in the same manner as the sneak previews doled out by her publisher: a gauzy Mother's Day tribute for Vogue magazine and her telling of the 2012 attack on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, for Politico.

"It seems to me that the rollout of Hillary's book has been letter-perfect," Paul Begala, a campaign strategist who served in the White House under President Clinton and remains close to the family, said in an email. "Rather than wait for the inevitable leaks, Team Hillary has released select excerpts, both to satisfy the press and to build anticipation for the book's release."

Some suggest that it seems a bit too perfect...

Yeah, well. It's battlespace preparation.

But continue reading.

'This woman, Marie Larf [Harf], seems to be the White Susan Rice, except even dumber and more preposterous...'

At AoSHQ, "State Department Refuses to Say if Cash Payoff Was Part of Bergdahl Hostage Deal."



A paid liar, and dumb at that.

VA Halted Visits to Troubled Hospitals

At the Wall Street Journal, "Change Came as Growing Number of Facilities Had High Death Rates."

PREVIOUSLY: "Depraved Leftists Run Interference for Obama on #VeteransAdministration."

The International Crisis of Unaccompanied Migrant Children at U.S. Border

From the editors, at the Sacramento Bee.

RELATED: At KNXV-TV ABC15 Phoenix, "Transfer of undocumented kids sparks threat."

Is Obama Considering Surrendering to the Taliban?

I think the real question is "Has Obama already surrendered to the Taliban"?

But see Marc Thiessen, at the Washington Post:

Obama administration officials are arguing that the Taliban release was inevitable, because the war in Afghanistan is ending. But the coming withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan does not end the state of war between the United States and the Taliban. There are only three ways that state of war can end: 1) we reach a peace accord with the Taliban; 2) the Taliban surrenders; or 3) the United States surrenders.

The first two are not happening anytime soon. Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar declared the release of his five commanders a “great victory.” Enemy forces don’t tend to capitulate after a great victory. And a Taliban spokesman declared last week that the prisoner exchange “won’t help the peace process in any way, because we don’t believe in the peace process.”

So unless Obama capitulates, there is no reason under the laws of war why the president must release Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These detainees have been approved by the Obama administration for indefinite detention. The president’s authority to hold Taliban detainees indefinitely is not extinguished when U.S. forces withdraw. The only thing that would require the United States to hand over Taliban prisoners would be if Obama issues a declaration that we have no further conflict with the Taliban. That would end his authority under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to continue holding Taliban prisoners...

Supreme Court Rules Against 'Aged Out' Illegal Immigrants

Heh, no "special consideration" for illegals whose parents failed to get a permanent visa before they turned 21.

Back of the line, sucka!

At USA Today, "Justices deny visa priority to children who turn 21."

Also at Scotus Blog, "Quick take: Court defers to agency on “aged-out” immigrants."

Krauthammer Destroys Endless White House Lies on Bowe #Bergdahl

It's just "lie after lie," and the "pretense" that this deal was something to celebrate is just "appalling."

And just compare Krauthammer's comments here to the meme Politico was spinning last week. The MSM propaganda is just terrible: "Charles Krauthammer backs Bowe Bergdahl deal."

Poll: Veteran Households Slam #Bergdahl Swap as 'Wrong Thing to Do...'

From the new USA Today/Pew Center poll, "USA TODAY poll: Obama mishandled Bergdahl exchange."

Also, "Public Has Doubts about Bergdahl Prisoner Exchange":

Veteran Households’ Views of Bergdahl Deal.

Households that include a military veteran take a more negative view of Bergdahl and the prisoner exchange than do households without a veteran.

Overall, 33% of the public says someone in their household has served in the U.S. military or the military reserves at some point. Among this group, 55% say the exchange of five Taliban prisoners was the wrong thing to do, compared with just 26% who say it was the right thing to do. Non-veteran households are evenly divided (37% right thing, 38% wrong thing).

Furthermore, veteran households are somewhat more likely to say they are angry with Bergdahl (23%) than sympathetic toward him (12%), though most (57%) say they hold neither feeling toward him.

And when it comes to U.S. responsibility toward Bergdahl, 37% of veteran households say the country was not obligated to do all it could to secure his release because he walked away from his post; 47% say the U.S. has a responsibility to do all it can to return an American captive soldier, no matter what the circumstances. Non-veteran households are more likely to back U.S. efforts to free captive soldiers, regardless of the circumstances (60%-26%).

The American public agrees that we should make every effort to bring the troops home. But the poll finds Americans especially critical of White House communications with the Congress.

It's especially telling how the military families view this, however. Remember the president's "icy" reception at West Point? The chill has yet to thaw.

More at Memeorandum.

Whoa! MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Not Buying #Bergdahl Spin from State Department's Marie Harf

Harf's a paid liar.

From Noah Rothman, at Hot Air, "Andrea Mitchell not buying State Dept.’s spin on Bergdahl Swap."

Enjoy Bikinis

At Bananarama, "Bikinis Are the Only Way to Enjoy" (via Linkiest).

BONUS: At Egotastic, "Abbey Clancy Bikini Pictures."

Obama Administration Gave #Bergdahl Parents Exclusive Insider Access

The White House planned all along to use Bowe Berdahl's capture to empty Guantanamo.

At the Washington Times, "Bergdahl’s parents got rare access to insiders; data for sympathizer of Gitmo detainees":

Soon after Sgt. Bergdahl went missing in Afghanistan in June 2009, the Obama administration approved an outreach program that involved the Bergdahls traveling from their home in Hailey, Idaho, to the state’s National Guard headquarters in Boise.

There they were hooked into secure video conferences that included representatives of U.S. Central Command, which runs the war in Afghanistan, as well as with White House, State Department and intelligence officials.

Robert Bergdahl has expressed concern for prisoners at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. From that prison, the U.S. released five senior Taliban commanders May 31 in exchange for the 28-year-old Sgt. Bergdahl, who was held five years by the violent Haqqani Network, a Taliban ally.

Air Force Col. Timothy Marsano, Idaho’s National Guard spokesman, said the Bergdahls participated in video conferences quarterly — or perhaps as many as 20 — over the five years.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl were regularly informed about what was happening throughout the duration using video teleconferencing [with] various military and other government agencies,” Col. Marsano said. “There was a great effort to keep Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl updated on developments.”

Keep reading.

More at Twitchy, "Bob Bergdahl now tweeting for more Guantanamo releases." And IJR, "Why Did Robert Bergdahl Stand Next to President Obama and Praise Allah for His Freed POW Son?"

PREVIOUSLY: "Robert Bergdahl's #Taliban Tweets: Allāhu Akbar!"

Steve Coburn Apology on 'Good Morning America'

Bit by the backlash, I guess.

Here's the rant from Saturday, "California Chrome Owner Steve Coburn: 'This Is the Coward's Way Out...'"

And now at ABC News, "California Chrome Co-Owner 'Ashamed' of Angry Rant After Belmont Loss."

And Robin Roberts has the interview, "California Chrome Co-Owner Apologizes."

Quebec City Prison Escape

Wow.

At Toronto's Globe and Mail, "Quebec on alert after second jailbreak with helicopter," and at the National Post, "Three inmates use a helicopter to escape from Quebec prison — similar to daring 2013 jailbreak."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "Helicopter lands in prison yard, takes off with three inmates."

Saxby Chambliss and Dianne Feinstein on 'Face the Nation' — #BergdahlTreason

At WaPo, "Feinstein, Chambliss criticize White House over Bergdahl secrecy."

And videos, "Saxby Chambliss: Hard to 'validate' reports Bowe Bergdahl was tortured," and "Dianne Feinstein: Bowe Bergdahl prisoner swap 'mixed bag at best'."

D-Day Veteran Jock Hutton, 89, Parachutes Into Normandy Again

At the Scottish Daily Record, "Scottish D-Day veteran Jock Hutton, 89, takes part in tandem parachute jump with Red Devils."

'I am glad that we got our guy back, however I do not feel it is right that we subject ourselves to these acts of terrorism...'

She got one heckuva round of applause at that response.

At Twitchy, "Did Miss Louisiana say it was a mistake for Obama to release five Taliban leaders from Gitmo? [video]."

Pakistan Taliban Attacks Karachi International Airport

Because we've got those terrorists on the run alright!

At WSJ, "Gunmen Attack Karachi Airport: Masked Men Attack With Guns, Grenades; At Least 23 People Killed."

KARACHI, Pakistan—Militants stormed Karachi's Jinnah International Airport late Sunday, exchanging fire with security forces and leaving at least 23 people dead, officials said.

Separately, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked pilgrims from the minority Shiite sect of Islam in the west of the country, killing at least 23 pilgrims.

The Pakistani Taliban, a group closely linked to al Qaeda and its militant allies, claimed responsibility for the airport attack. No responsibility was immediately claimed or assigned for the attack on the pilgrims, but the Pakistani Taliban frequently targets Shiites, who make up about 20% of Pakistan's population.

More.

Also at Pamela, "Jihadists disguised as police guards and wearing suicide vests kill 18 during five-hour siege at Pakistan’s largest international airport."

Battle to Establish an Islamic State Across Iraq and Syria

This is from far-left commentator Patrick Cockburn, brother to the "last Stalinist" Alexander Cockburn (who passed away in 2012), at the Independent UK, "In the war on terrorism, only al-Qa'ida thrives":

It has become increasingly obvious over the past year that al-Qa'ida type movements, notably Isis, Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, have come to dominate or can operate freely in a great swathe of territory across northern Iraq and northern Syria. This gives Isis a vast hinterland in which it can manoeuvre and fight on both sides of what is a largely nominal Syrian-Iraqi border. The prospect is always there for an even more explosive conflict: last week, Isis columns of vehicles penetrated deep into the city of Samarra in Iraq, coming within less than two miles of the golden-domed Shia al-Askari shrine, the blowing up of which by al-Qa'ida in Iraq in 2006 led to a savage intensification of the sectarian civil war in which tens of thousands of Sunni and Shia were butchered.

So long as the Syrian civil war continues, it benefits groups such as Isis, which wants to create its own state and not just get rid of Assad, because fanatical armed groups, with fighters prepared to be killed, always benefit from conflict. By the same token, moderates lose out or are marginalised as the situation becomes more and more militarised and Syrian public opinion counts for little.

And, "Isis special report: Jihadist group more extreme than al-Qa’ida in battle to establish Islamic state across Iraq and Syria."

Miss Pennsylvania Valerie Gatto

At Life News, "Miss Pennsylvania Valerie Gatto Was Conceived in Rape, Glad She Wasn't Aborted."

And from Kevin Williamson, at National Review, "Mother Courage: Miss Pennsylvania USA's Remarkable Mother":

There are many kinds of courage in the world, of which a mother’s courage is a very specific and demanding variety. Rape is a special kind of cruelty in that it transforms the life-giving act into an act of torture. To suffer the crime and yet cherish the life is an act of transcendence, a perfection of generosity rarely if ever equaled by the merely human.

Kate Beckinsale

At Egotastic!, "Kate Beckinsale My Hot Virgin in White."

Details Emerge of Bowe #Bergdahl's Captivity

Most of the news now is pro-administration propaganda, with the folks at the New York Times leading the way. William Jacobson reported earlier on the Old Gray Lady's editorial demonizing Republicans for rightly calling out the administration's perfidy and treason, "NY Times Editors Rush to Demonize Republicans over Sgt. Bergdahl."

And from today's edition, "As Bowe Bergdahl Heals, Details Emerge of His Captivity," and "Bergdahl Was in Unit Known for Its Troubles." (At Memeorandum.)

And here's the report from this morning's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, with both George and Martha Raddatz showing touching solidarity with the traitor Bergdahl.



PREVIOUSLY: "Bowe #Bergdahl Won't Speak to His Family."

#Rule5 Sunday

Last up we had "Jessica Simpson Friday #Rule5 Roundup."

So, picking up today, check it out at Pirate's Cove, "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup," and "If All You See……is extreme rain caused solely by someone driving a fossil fueled vehicle, you might just be a Warmist."

At 90 Miles From Tyranny, "Morning Mistress."

And from Blackmailers, "Big-Breasted Farrah Abraham Insists That She’s Not a Porn Star."

In a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World has the "Friday Pinup."

More at Daley Gator, "DALEYGATOR DALEYBABE CARRIE MINTER."

Odie has, "Goblins ~OR~ Rule 5 Woodsterman Style."

The Hostages, "Big Boog Friday."

And from Proof Positive, "Tonight's FNB* is Amal Alamuddin!"

The Chive, "Every girl is working out for the weekend (38 Photos)."

At Knuckledraggin', "For old times sake."

And Dana Pico, "Rule 5 Blogging: The Women of Normandy!"

At Doubletroubletwo, "Random Hotties."

Plus, at Egotastic!, "Eva Green Topless Scene in 300 Rise of an Empire."

And from Goodstuff, "Gwyneth Paltrow's (Iron Man Chick) cleavage leads this gargantuan metablog."

BONUS: At Soylent, "Over-Nighty: Pearls."

Drop your links in the comments if I missed you.

5 Dead in Las Vegas Shooting

At the Las Vegas Sun, "Two officers, three others dead in shooting on Nellis Blvd."

Also at London's Daily Mail, "Two police officers killed in 'ambush' at Las Vegas Walmart by pair of gunmen who then killed themselves":

Sheriff Gillespie confirms death of two LVMPD officers today, Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo. pic.twitter.com/sSuZlLA6Xc

— LVMPD (@LVMPD) June 8, 2014

Sources told KSNV the gunmen ran into the the Cici's armed with rifles and bullet-proof vests at 11.27 a.m.

The pair then shot the officers - one in the head - and then took their firearms and ammunition before fleeing to a nearby Walmart while repeatedly shouting about a revolution beginning, police said.

One of the cops died at the scene as the other was rushed to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead while in emergency surgery, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The two suspects shot then shot dead a a civilian who is believed to have been carrying a concealed firearm and had opened fire on them as they ran into the Walmart, Deputy Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during an afternoon press conference.

There were 'literally a thousand' witnesses to the terrifying events, Mc Mahill added.

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Friday Nite Funnies (early edition)," and Reaganite Republican, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES."

And at Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Operation Enduring Weakness."

CARTOON CREDIT: William Warren.

Hillary Wants to Be President Without Media Vetting

Of course.

A killer IBD editorial, via Instapundit, "WELL, IT WORKED FOR OBAMA."

Amid Open Borders Surge, Feds Shipping Hundreds of Illegal Alien Children to Arizona

At Pat Dollard, "Feds Say ‘No End In Sight’ to Policy of Dumping Illegal Alien Children In Arizona."

And Blazing Cat Fur, "This is What 'The Camp of the Saints' Looks Like."

Also at the Arizona Republic, "300 more immigrant children shipped to Arizona."

The thing is, administration policy is being touted as a de facto amnesty south of the border, and single mothers with children are swarming into the United States to take advantage.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Rumors of U.S. haven for families spur rise in illegal immigration":

Yoselin Ramos had long wanted to trek to the United States to escape the crushing poverty and rising violence in her hometown in Guatemala.

But it wasn't until the 24-year-old heard about a "new opportunity" that she packed a bag and left her home with her 3-year-old son, Yovani, for the treacherous journey north.

Ramos became part of an unprecedented surge of families crossing illegally into the U.S., drawn by reports circulating throughout Central America that parents with children are allowed to stay in the United States indefinitely, according to Guatemalan consular officials and parents who are making these trips. But these families, U.S. officials say, are getting only half the story.

The surge of single parents and children has surprised and overwhelmed border agents in the Southwest — particularly Texas — and flooded the Greyhound bus stations in Phoenix and Tucson over the last several months with hundreds of immigrant families dropped off there by U.S. immigration authorities who had nowhere else to put them.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, federal officials flew at least 400 migrants apprehended in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas to Tucson to be processed, said Andy Adame, a spokesman for the Border Patrol in Arizona.

From there, many were dropped off at bus stations with orders to appear before immigration authorities at their chosen destination within 15 days. "The Border Patrol does not have enough space in its processing facilities to handle a surge in illegal immigrants in south Texas," Adame said.

The unusual situation represents not a change in policy but an attempt to accommodate the unexpected numbers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said. Immigration authorities have recently opened shelters on military bases in Texas and California for the wave of children crossing the U.S. border in ever-greater volumes in recent months. Detention centers are available for adult immigrants. But there are no similar facilities for families, at least in the Southwest.

In 2008, immigration officials stopped placing parents traveling with their children at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas, after allegations surfaced of human rights violations at the facility.

The fact that so many parents with children have been freed to travel within the U.S. has sent rumors flying through Central American nations that parents will not be detained in the U.S. if they arrive with a child — spurring even more families to launch the journey, according to immigrant advocates and Guatemalan consular officials in Phoenix who have been working to help find shelter for families stranded at bus stations.

More.

Bowe #Bergdahl Won't Speak to His Family

At WSJ, "U.S. Official: Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Has Declined to Speak to His Family: Doctors Moving Slowly on Treatment because of Swirling Controversy Over Prisoner Swap" (via Blazing Cat Fur and Memeorandum):

PARIS—Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has declined to speak to his family after five years in harsh captivity that included being held in a cage after one attempted escape, according to a U.S. official familiar with the Army soldier's recovery.

Doctors treating Sgt. Bergdahl at a U.S. military hospital in Germany are moving slowly because of the swirling controversy over the soldier's release, the U.S. official said.

While he spent five years in captivity after being captured by Afghan insurgents in 2009, Sgt. Bergdahl doesn't yet want to talk to his family on the phone, the official said.

Sgt. Bergdahl has likely been shielded from most of the backlash his release has generated in the U.S. Some former platoon soldiers have accused him of deserting his post and lawmakers from both parties have questioned the decision to trade America's lone prisoner of war in Afghanistan for five Taliban officials held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Local authorities canceled a homecoming celebration in his Idaho hometown because of the backlash. The celebration was canceled specifically because of threats made against the family, officials said.

The political furor, which has raged since the May 31 prisoner swap, continued through the weekend. What had at first blush seemed an uplifting story about a prisoner returning home after five years in captivity has instead become a major headache for the Obama administration, straining ties with lawmakers who felt they were kept in the dark about the prisoner swap and raising fears the freed Taliban detainees could return to the battlefield.

Speaking on CNN, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defended the administration's decision to exchange Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five top Taliban detainees, saying it would have been "offensive and incomprehensible" to leave an American prisoner of war behind.

"To leave an American behind, in the hands of people that torture him, cut off his head, do any number of things, and we would consciously choose to do that? That's the other side of this equation," Mr. Kerry said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I don't think anybody would think that is the appropriate thing to do."

Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), speaking later on CNN, said he wouldn't have released the five Taliban detainees, saying they were evaluated during their time in Guantanamo as too great a risk and would put other American servicemen at risk. He said the Qatari government "is not renowned for its ability to keep things in security."

"I think we should do everything in our power to win the release of any American being held but not at the expense of the lives and well-being of their fellow servicemen and women," said Mr. McCain, who was himself a prisoner of war in Vietnam. "When we join the military, we know we take certain risks, and among those risks are wounding, death, imprisonment."

More.

Actually, I don't think he's so "shielded." I don't think he wants to be associated with his father right now, who looks like a freakin' imam.

More at NYT, "As Bowe Bergdahl Heals, Details Emerge of His Captivity."

Bowe #Bergdahl's Views Shifted After First Taste of War

At the Wall Street Journal, "Private Was Gung-Ho, but Soon Complained About Army's Strategy":

Bowe Bergdahl arrived in Afghanistan ready to kill.

Like many soldiers heading into a war zone for the first time, the 22-year-old Army private was eager to get into the fight. As he and his unit prepared for battle in late 2008, he approached his squad leader at their Alaska military base with a memorable question.

"The first thing he said was: 'Can I cut off the face of the first Taliban I kill and wear it like a mask?' " said Josh Korder, an Army soldier who said he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

The bravado didn't last. Then-Pfc. Bergdahl's view of America's war began to turn after his first big firefight on an Afghan mountainside in May 2009. A month later, after complaining about the Army's strategy, he disappeared from his post.

Now that Sgt. Bergdahl, 28, has been released after nearly five years in Taliban captivity—he was promoted during that time—some of his friends and fellow soldiers are speaking out on the question at the heart of the controversial prisoner exchange that freed him: Why did he vanish?  "I've been thinking about it since the day he left," said Mr. Korder. "Where'd Bergdahl go?"

Was he trying to switch sides? Did he want to leave the war behind and become a nomad? Was he betrayed by two Afghan police officers who Mr. Korder said mysteriously fled from the same outpost the day the soldier disappeared?

The answer rests with Sgt. Bergdahl in a U.S. military hospital bed where he is probably unaware of the political turmoil his release has created. A spokesman for his family declined to comment on Friday, as did the Army.

The Army and the soldiers who served with Sgt. Bergdahl have no doubt that he walked away from the tiny military outpost on June 30, 2009. A classified Army investigation concluded he voluntarily left the compound in eastern Afghanistan, but it stopped short of characterizing it as a desertion, said military officials familiar with the report.  Some soldiers who lived and fought with then-Pfc. Bergdahl described a man with conflicting and often contradictory views of the war.

Pfc. Bergdahl at one point complained to them that the Army's soft-edged "hearts and minds" counterinsurgency campaign wasn't the way to win the war. But he spent hours hanging out with Afghan police officers, studying the local language and praising their culture, they said.  He chafed for a time at not having more chances to attack the Taliban but appeared to respect the way Afghan insurgents fought.

Zach Barrow, a 27-year-old Army gunner who rode in the same truck as Pfc. Bergdahl, described his shift.

"It seemed like he was this die-hard, Rambo-esque soldier who wanted to kick a— and take names who then became this Peace Corps kind of guy who wanted to help the people," Mr. Barrow told The Wall Street Journal in his first interview about Sgt. Bergdahl.

Soldiers who trained with then-Pfc. Bergdahl described the arriving Army private from Idaho as a quiet loner who favored books on Buddhism over video games. He told friends he was named after Chick Bowdrie, the tough Texas Ranger in author Louis L'Amour's cowboy short stories.

Especially at first, Pfc. Bergdahl was eager to fight. In May 2009, shortly after he arrived in Afghanistan, he took part in a mission to rescue an Army unit stuck in the mountains after a roadside bomb had disabled one of its armored vehicles.

On the narrow mountain road, a vehicle in his convoy hit a roadside bomb, leaving his unit stuck in the middle of Taliban-dominated terrain for days. As the stranded soldiers grew anxious, waiting for commanders to come up with a plan, Pfc. Bergdahl fantasized about life in Afghanistan.

More.

Judge Jeanine Pirro Demands President Obama's Impeachment

No one tops Judge Jeanine's righteous indignation.

I love it.

Fresh Legs Stamp Out a Coronation — #BelmontStakes

Following-up from my last entry, "California Chrome Owner Steve Coburn: 'This Is the Coward's Way Out...'"

Here's the main story at the New York Times, "Belmont Stakes 2014: Tonalist Wins, Denying California Chrome the Triple Crown." (A commenter there indicates that previous Triple Crown winners faced fresh horses.)

Also, "Belmont Stakes: Tonalist Denies California Chrome the Triple Crown":

O.K. I’ll admit it, I just got goosebumps for the first time today. And I fully expect half the press box to shed a few tears if California Chrome does indeed win. Chrome’s loquacious co-owner just entered the owner’s box and stood up and tipped his cap to the crowd. It seemed as if the entire crowd turned around and started to chant, “Let’s Go Chrome!”

Now Frank Sinatra Jr. is singing “New York, New York” as the horses make their way to the racetrack. The buzz is palpable.

Bill Dwyre's got an analysis, at the Los Angeles Times, "Once again, a Triple Crown dream vanishes at the Belmont."

And see Steve Kallas, at CBS New York, "Chrome Winning Triple Crown Might Be Bad for Thoroughbred Racing."

California Chrome Owner Steve Coburn: 'This Is the Coward's Way Out...'

At USA Today, "California Chrome owner Steve Coburn flips out after Belmont Stakes."

And at the Los Angeles Times, "California Chrome co-owner calls Tonalist win 'coward's way out'."

From potential Triple Crown owner to sorest loser in a span of a few minutes #stayclassy
— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) June 7, 2014

Has the Desperate Global Warming Crusade Reached its Waterloo?

From Steven Hayward, at the Weekly Standard, "Climate Cultists."

More Than Half Say They'd Abandon Their Cable Firm, If Only They Could

Well, if they keep doggin' us on sports programming, like the Dodgers Time-Warner Cable TV debacle, folks won't have any choice but to say screw it anyway.

Yep, at WaPo, "‘A soup of misery’: Over half of people say they’d abandon their cable company, if only they could."

Not Looking Good for Mary Landrieu

At Diogenes.

After Kay Hagan, Landrieu's my #2 top GOP pickoff.

And speaking of Hagan, it's not looking so good for her either. At the Asheville Citizen Times, "Tillis slightly edges Hagan in new poll."

'Blue Collar' California Chrome Has Central Valley Abuzz

A front-page story, LAT, "Belmont: California Chrome's run at history has hometown breathless."

And that nose strip issue won't be a problem, apparently, "Nasal strips came along for California Chrome's Triple Crown ride."

President Barack Obama Remarks at 70th Anniversary of D-Day — Omaha Beach, Normandy

Check the transcript of the speech here.

And the full video is here, "President Obama Commemorates the 70th Anniversary of D-Day."

I'm multitasking here with other news sources, but so far I hear no apology for America, no statement slamming the racist, imperialist United States for "not being perfect." That said, he does conclude by harking back to the meme that "today's wars" are coming to "an end" (even though they are not), so never underestimate the president's ability to throw America's sacrifices under the bus.

National Security Advisor Susan Rice Doubles Down on #Bergdahl Defense

It's pretty pathetic when you have to plead, "Really, Jim ... he is, like all Americans, innocent until proven guilty..."

At Gateway Pundit, "UNREAL. Susan Rice Defends Deserter Bergdahl Again – Calls His Service “Honorable” (Video)." (Via Memeorandum.)

No Ethnic Studies Indoctrination in California Schools

The L.A. Times had this earlier, "Standardized ethnic-studies curriculum for high schools to be studied."

A monstrously bad idea, obviously.

So, I'm surprised the Times ran this letter today. Indeed, the editors highlighted it at the top of today's op-ed page.

See, "Ethnic studies and racial resentment":

A San Francisco State University professor says ethnic studies classes in high school will help young people "learn about themselves and the world about them and make the world a better place." The California Assembly seems to agree, having passed a bill that will require these courses in our public high schools. ("Standardized ethnic-studies curriculum for high schools to be studied," June 2)

If this follows the pattern we've seen elsewhere, what's almost certain to happen is that students will be taught to view America as a hopelessly racist place where everyone is either an oppressor or a victim, and those who belong to "privileged" groups should be viewed with suspicion and resentment

If our Legislature really wants to make the world a better place, why not start by rejecting divisiveness and indoctrination in our schools? Then lawmakers can make sure that kids are functionally literate and learn the basics of science, math and history before they walk across the graduation stage.

David J. Brackney 
Whittier

Taliban Supreme Council Offers to Send 400 Battle-Hardened Peacekeepers to Chicago

The Los Angeles Times reports that the five freed top Taliban prisoners from Guantánamo aren't so bad after all. Indeed, they're such a jolly old bunch it's amazing U.S. forces ever captured them in the first place.

See, "Most of 5 freed Taliban prisoners have less than hard-core pasts."

No doubt Obama will want to redeploy them to Chicago.

At the People's Cube, "Taliban to Send Peace-Keeping Advisers to Chicago."

'Think Progress' Blames #Berghahl Desertion on Army's Failed Efforts to Treat 'Combat Stress and PTSD'

I guess there's just not enough social justice in the U.S. Army.

Seriously, for the traitor-loving left, it's never about personal responsibility. Never about about consequences. If an American soldier attacks his own deployment, declares he's ashamed to be an American, and disses the U.S. mission in Afghanistan as "revolting" and "self-righteous arrogance," the only explanation is that the Army failed to "understand why a soldier with a history of going AWOL was allowed to stay in the fight without adequate intervention."

Reason number kajillion why I'm not a leftist. At Weasel Zippers, "Soros-Funded Rag Think Progress: Army to Blame for Bergdahl Deserting…":

The left continues to flail wildly trying to make excuses for Bergdahl’s desertion.

'Of all the days in the 20th century, none were more consequential than June 6, 1944...'

It's historian Douglas Brinkley, a good guy.



Earlier, "'These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc...'," and "'I'll see you on the beach...'"

How the #Bergdahl Story Fell Apart

From Stephen Hayes, at the Weekly Standard, "The Unraveling":

For more than a year, the president had been buffeted by events that he could not—or would not—control. The disastrous debut of Obamacare, the continuing fallout from the Benghazi attacks, the consequences of intelligence disclosures by Edward Snowden, the unfolding human tragedy in Syria, the Russian power play in Ukraine, the scandal that has engulfed the Veterans Administration—in one crisis after another, the man who once boldly declared his intent to be a transformative president had shown himself to be a reactive one.

But in the course of three days in late May, Obama sought to wrest control back by demonstrating progress on two of his longest-held goals: ending America’s overseas wars and closing the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. On May 28, in a commencement speech before cadets graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Obama declared that all combat troops would be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016. And three days later, in announcing the transfer of five senior Taliban officials, all designated at “high risk” to return to battle, Obama demonstrated his determination to shutter the detainee facility.

The morning after Obama announced the prisoner exchange, top national security officials from his administration fanned out on the Sunday talk shows. The job of explaining the president’s decision fell to defense secretary Chuck Hagel and national security adviser Susan Rice.

The president, recognizing the “acute and urgent situation” of the missing soldier, had an obligation to “prioritize the health of Sgt. Bergdahl,” Rice explained. “His life could have been at risk.” Waiting was not an option.

Bergdahl was a hero, she suggested, “an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield” who had served his country with “honor and distinction.”

In an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Rice explained that the five Taliban commanders would be transferred to Qatar, where “they will be carefully watched” and “their ability to move will be constrained.”   Rice brushed off concerns that the United States had engaged in hostage negotiations with terrorists, emphasizing that the United States communicated indirectly with the Taliban through the Qataris. Hagel, for his part, was clear about the U.S. diplomatic partners on the exchange. “We didn’t negotiate with terrorists,” he insisted in an appearance on Meet the Press.

He downplayed the notion that the five Taliban commanders could present a threat to the United States, arguing that he wouldn’t sign off on any detainee transfer unless “our country can be assured that we can sufficiently mitigate any risk to America’s security.”

And then came the unraveling.

It came alright, with a nuclear thunderclap.

More.

Did #Bergdahl Deserve to Be Rescued?

An editorial at the Los Angeles Times, FWIW, "The Bergdahl blowback: Did he deserve to be rescued?"

And ICYMI, at the New York Times, "Critics Are Questioning American Military Credo of Leaving No One Behind."

You think?

I can't believe I'm saying this but: I want to hear the Taliban's side of the story on this. They're more credible, candid, and trustworthy..."

A follow-up from yesterday, "The Obama Administration's Treasonous Lack of Transparency on Bowe #Bergdahl."

See AoSHQ, "The Psychopathic Death-Cult Taliban: More Honest and Forthcoming Than the Current Occupant of the American White House."

The Case for Impeachment

From Jed Babbin, at the American Spectator, "The Case For Obama's Impeachment."

Babbin discusses Andrew McCarthy's new book, Faithless Execution: Building the Political Case for Obama’s Impeachment.

RELATED: At National Review, "McCarthy: Obama ‘Replenished the Enemy in Wartime’ with Bergdahl Swap."

IMAGE CREDIT: iOWNTHEWORLD, "Enemies List, Disregard for the Constitution, Detachment, Oh My!"

'These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc...'

President Ronald Reagan, speaking at Normandy in 1984.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.

'I'll see you on the beach...'

Below, the opening scene at Omaha Beach from "Saving Private Ryan," my favorite movie.

And see, "Carlo D'Este, at the Armchair General, "What if D-Day Had Failed [2005]?"

Also, from Brian Williams, at Military History, "The Atlantic Wall [2000]," and David Jennys, at World War II, "D-Day: The Beginning of the End for Nazi Germany [2006]."

At the New York Times, "World Leaders and Veterans to Gather at D-Day Beaches."

And at Telegraph UK, "D-Day: 'History dies if no one knows about it'," and London's Daily Mail, "Even after 70 years, the loss never fades away: The Allies return to Normandy to mark anniversary of D-Day landings."

"‘So funny!’ Michelle Malkin hits back at whiny Chuck Todd ‘like a wrecking ball’ [GIF]"

Too funny, at Twitchy.

@michellemalkin expect a little better from you. Pretty shallow

— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) June 5, 2014

@chucktodd http://t.co/laV9MClpLs

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) June 5, 2014

White House Expected #Bergdahl Backlash. Wait. What?

This is a lie that Obama deceivers are spinning right before the American people.

Remember, we had the initial reports of rainbows and unicorns at the news of Bergdahl's release, "Chuck Todd: The White House expected “euphoria” over Bergdahl’s release."

But now, amid the harsh backlash and top-level Democrat defections, we have the new meme that "the White House expected backlash --- but not this much," which is of course a bald-faced lie. No surprise there.

At CNN, "Bergdahl backlash surprises White House."

'Too many academics and diplomats—and it seems organizations like Human Rights Watch—prefer to ignore the ideology which underpins Islamist-inspired terrorism and instead see the world through the prism of grievance...'

That's Michael Rubin, at Commentary, taking Human Rights Watch Director Kenneth Roth to the woodshed: "Human Rights Watch Doesn’t Understand Terrorism."

#Bergdahl Platoon Team Members Speak Out — #KellyFile

From Megyn Kelly's show last night:



Plus, at Pat Dollard's, "OBAMA WAR ON THE TROOPS: Commander-In-Chief’s Spokesmen Now Smearing Combat Vets As ‘Psychopaths’ For Telling Truth About Bergdahl," via Spread Butter:

Commander-In-Chief's Mindfucktool Team Now Smearing Combat #Vets As "Psychopaths" For Telling Truth About #Bergdahl http://t.co/5QyLYUpCSz

— SpreadButter (@SpreadButter) June 6, 2014

Taliban Held Fast to Their Demands in Sgt. Bowe #Bergdahl Swap Talks

At the Wall Street Journal, "Afghan Militants' Top Priority Was Winning the Release of Detainees in Guantanamo Prison":

Ever since talks for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl began in November 2010, Taliban representatives had a consistent message for the Obama administration. Their priority was freeing a group of Taliban leaders at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in exchange for the captive U.S. soldier.

The Taliban had a harder time getting a handle on a divided U.S. government's position, as officials in Washington sent mixed messages about the administration's intentions and what it could deliver, according to U.S. officials close to the talks. Different officials and agencies at different times issued demands and threw up roadblocks.

At several points, the Taliban team seemed confused as to why President Barack Obama couldn't just issue an edict to make the exchange happen, say those close to the talks. So U.S. negotiators brought to one meeting a copy of legislation that restricted Mr. Obama's ability to free the detainees on the Taliban's list, and then explained how the provisions limited their room to maneuver.

In the end, Mr. Obama made a decision that wasn't far from what the Taliban had wanted from the start. On his own authority, the president released the group's leaders from Guantanamo in return for Sgt. Bergdahl, without notifying Congress.

That change of heart is one big reason why the prisoner swap has sparked a political backlash that has consumed Washington since the weekend return of Sgt. Bergdahl, who was captured in 2009. Republicans and many Democrats in Congress are furious with the White House for not consulting with lawmakers. Sgt. Bergdahl's hometown in Idaho has been so riven by debate over his release that it has canceled a homecoming celebration.

According to officials, White House aides feared that briefing lawmakers about the talks would increase the chances of leaks, which could scuttle the swap. Worse yet, U.S. officials feared that the captors, who might not have known about the proposed swap, would kill Sgt. Bergdahl if they found out about the negotiations.

Mr. Obama on Thursday defended the exchange and the secrecy surrounding it. "We had a prisoner of war whose health had deteriorated, and we were deeply concerned about. And we saw an opportunity, and we seized it. And I make no apologies for that," he said at a news conference in Brussels.

Even before the first U.S.-Taliban meeting in Munich in November 2010, the proposed talks faced bureaucratic infighting. Top officials in the White House supported the talks, which Mr. Obama authorized. But some officials were reluctant to entrust such a sensitive effort, which they saw as critical to Mr. Obama's legacy, to the late Richard Holbrooke, then the special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Mr. Holbrooke was a well-known, long-serving U.S. diplomat, but his high-profile style of personal diplomacy bothered some of his administration and military counterparts, according to current and former officials involved in the discussions. But the White House agreed to tap his deputy, Frank Ruggiero, to represent the U.S. in Munich, as Mr. Holbrook had proposed.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was supportive but skeptical about the prospects, current and former officials say.

Mr. Holbrooke saw the first round of talks in Munich as a critical opening. The Taliban made clear they really cared about obtaining freedom for the detainees and easing U.S. sanctions against the group. Mr. Holbrooke told aides the U.S. would use both issues as leverage to try to advance its priority of getting the Taliban to enter talks to reconcile with the Afghan government to coincide with an eventual U.S. troop withdrawal and end of the war.

Mr. Holbrooke was just starting to put together a negotiating strategy for the next round of meetings when he died unexpectedly, leaving a leadership void.  The U.S. government and the Taliban leadership both knew that talks would be unpopular with their respective fighters on the ground and needed to be closely-held. Then-commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, and other military leaders argued that the time wasn't right. Military leaders preferred to notch further battlefield gains to weaken the Taliban before beginning talks, current and former government officials said. Gen. Petraeus declined to comment...

Continue reading.

PREVIOUSLY: "Obama Makes 'Absolutely No Apologies' for Disastrous #Bergdahl Treason-Terror Exchange."

Jehane 'Gigi' Paris

According to a dedicated Facebook page, "Her full name is Jehane-Marie Paris and she is often known as GiGi."

Oh là là!

And see Egotastic!, "Jehane 'Gigi' Paris Sultry Photoshoot by Chris Shintani."

Full Rights to Enemy Combatants and Malcontents!

At the People's Cube, "Rights for undocumented enemy combatants and malcontents":

Al Qaeda PR: Equal rights for undocumented enemy combatants and malcontents! http://t.co/2wmDnvFhlH #TCOT pic.twitter.com/0jUIjfLnfU

— The People's Cube (@ThePeoplesCube) June 6, 2014

In an effort to lend more appreciation to the plights of repressed minority groups, the White House has announced a change in public policy that would work to eliminate the usage of such phrases as "traitor," "defector," and "deserter" in speeches, briefings, and official documents.

Saying that such pejoratives unfairly marginalize and belittle groups of people, discriminating based upon their allegiance, White House officials are urging Americans to eliminate such language from their Newspeak dictionaries.

Better alternatives to the unspeakable words include "undocumented foreign citizen," "undocumented enemy combatant," and "undocumented shirker."

The Left Is Terrified Right Now About the Bowe #Bergdahl Story

From Mollie Hemingway, at the Federalist.

Chris Hayes, Josh Marshall, and Michael Tomasky come in for a beating.

And here's Hayes interviewing Tomasky at the clip. These people are in a whole 'nother world, a post-American world of blind partisanship for a failed chief executive. Tomasky even bemoans "rank-and-file" conservatives who simply destroyed him on Twitter. I'm going to eschew modesty for a second and suggest that he's got me in mind.

Time Magazine Cover Story on the Bowe #Bergdahl Treason-Terror Exchange

See, "Bowe Bergdahl: No Soldier Left Behind":

When President Obama stepped into the Rose Garden on May 31 to announce a deal to free the only captive U.S. soldier in the Afghanistan war, he evidently was worried that Americans couldn't handle this truth. Flanked by the parents of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the President struck a victorious tone. He spoke of parental love and a nation’s duty and the loyalty of the freed soldier’s comrades. But he gave no hint that Bergdahl’s capture was the source of enormous anger and resentment among some of those comrades, who feel that he abandoned them when he walked away from his post one summer night in 2009. The anger at Bergdahl–and at the President–only deepened the next day, when National Security Adviser Susan Rice added another coat of whitewash. Bergdahl, Rice declared, “served the United States with honor and distinction.”

Maybe it was inevitable that even this familiar end-of-war set piece, the tearful return of the last prisoner, would sour, given the division and suspicion sown at home by the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the President made matters worse by rushing the final arrangements to trade five Taliban leaders for Bergdahl past a reluctant military and a skeptical Congress. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, chairman of the Intelligence Committee, complained of being left in the dark, while a U.S. military source told TIME that the decision boiled down to “suck it up and salute.”

Obama further erred by trying to spin a feel-good story from a messy set of facts. After a dismal week of bad news, including the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the White House leaped at the chance to show the depth of the President’s commitment to Americans in uniform. Within days, the Rose Garden fairy tale had been shredded by indignant soldiers and Obama’s political foes. Critics demanded to know how many Americans were killed five years ago while searching for Bergdahl and how much havoc the Taliban Five might wreak in the future, should they make their way back into action. The U.S. may vow to leave no soldier behind, but what is a reasonable risk to run or price to pay for that retrieval, and should the calculation change if the soldier is judged to deserve not a parade but a trial?

“This is what happens at the end of wars,” Obama said defensively as the anger and confusion boiled over. Arrangements must be made to tie up each violent drama with a bow, all the dead buried and all the living restored to their homes. “That was true for George Washington, that was true for Abraham Lincoln, that was true for FDR. That’s been true of every combat situation,” the President said. “At some point, you make sure that you try to get your folks back.” He might better have said that the Bergdahl story shows why wars continue to gnaw and grind long after the end is officially pronounced. Too much is smashed and bloodied to be wrapped up neatly. People must live, sometimes in turmoil, sometimes for centuries, with loose ends....

With some Republicans calling for hearings on the matter, the Bergdahl swap is likely to become a sore point in the autumn elections. And it puts a floodlight on the unresolved–unresolvable?–issue of the nearly 150 men still detained at Guantánamo.

The Challenge

The loosest end of all was hidden in plain sight among the Administration’s misleading pronouncements: What lies in store for Afghanistan and its neighbors after the U.S. departs? Though Obama recently announced plans to keep nearly 10,000 troops in place for now, gradually drawing the number down through 2016, the Bergdahl deal bore the unmistakable air of a nation washing its hands. After a year in Qatar, the Taliban Five will be free to return to the scene of past outrages–the soccer-stadium executions, the oppression of Afghan schoolgirls, the destruction of ancient artworks–and while the President pledged to defend the U.S. against them, he said nothing of defending the Afghans.

In this, Obama is reflecting the will of the American people, who have made themselves clear in surveys and at the ballot box. The war in Afghanistan must come to an end–for Americans if not for Afghans. The peace of Kabul will rest on the ability of Afghan factions to coexist, which, given the long history of this troubled land, there is little reason to hope for.

But the decision to try to slip these loose ends past an unnoticing public, borne on a smile and a fable, was a blunder in any event. It is said that soldiers never forget. They don’t forget their promise to leave no comrade behind. In the words of former soldier Alex Horton, “There’s not a place in the world I wouldn't go to bring back the men who served with me. That was true for combat, and it will be true for the rest of my life.” At the same time, they don’t forget the difference between those who stand and those who run, and they are very particular about the language of heroism. “This is just so grotesque,” argues retired Army officer and author Ralph Peters. “Americans can’t name a single Medal of Honor recipient, but everybody knows the name of a reputed deserter. The big mistake was for the President and his gang to present Bergdahl as a hero.”

The Obama Administration is not the first to look at the American people and think, in the words of Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth!” But it is the first to govern entirely in the age of nearly limitless communication. After Edward Snowden, after WikiLeaks, it should be clear that anything known inside the White House stands a good chance of becoming known to everyone. A President who promised unprecedented transparency must understand that a window shows the bad weather along with the good.

And the inescapable truth is that the U.S.’s departure from Afghanistan will not bring an end to the storms of that region, nor shield us from their effects. In its ugly complexity, the story of Bowe Bergdahl–the genuine story, not the bowdlerized version–is one symbol of that truth. Can we handle that? There’s really no alternative.

PREVIOUSLY: "#Bergdahl's Taliban Captors Speak Out."

Secret Documents Show #Bergdahl Declared Jihad in Captivity

James Rosen reports, at Fox News, "EXCLUSIVE: Bergdahl declared jihad in captivity, secret documents show":

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl at one point during his captivity converted to Islam, fraternized openly with his captors and declared himself a "mujahid," or warrior for Islam, according to secret documents prepared on the basis of a purported eyewitness account and obtained by Fox News.

The reports indicate that Bergdahl's relations with his Haqqani captors morphed over time, from periods of hostility, where he was treated very much like a hostage, to periods where, as one source told Fox News, "he became much more of an accepted fellow" than is popularly understood. He even reportedly was allowed to carry a gun at times.

The documents show that Bergdahl at one point escaped his captors for five days and was kept, upon his re-capture, in a metal cage, like an animal. In addition, the reports detail discussions of prisoner swaps and other attempts at a negotiated resolution to the case that appear to have commenced as early as the fall of 2009.

The reports are rich in on-the-ground detail -- including the names and locations of the Haqqani commanders who ran the 200-man rotation used to guard the Idaho native -- and present the most detailed view yet of what Bergdahl's life over the past five years has been like. These real-time dispatches were generated by the Eclipse Group, a shadowy private firm of former intelligence officers and operatives that has subcontracted with the Defense Department and prominent corporations to deliver granular intelligence on terrorist activities and other security-related topics, often from challenging environments in far-flung corners of the globe...

More.

The authenticity of these documents are going to questioned by administration defenders, especially the ties to the "shadowy" Eclipse Group.

That said, so far the preponderance of the evidence --- from those served with Bergdahl and from earlier statements from the Taliban --- lend tremendous corroboration to the latest revelations.

#Bergdahl's Taliban Captors Speak Out

Wolf Blitzer just interviewed Time's Aryn Baker. I'll post the video later if I find it.

Meanwhile, here's Baker's piece trending right now, "Taliban Commander: More Kidnappings to Come After Bergdahl Deal" (at Memeorandum).

And previously, "Brad Thor on #KellyFile: 'Every American Should Be Terrified' by #Bergdahl Swap."

This story's been leading the news cycle, and topping the newspaper headlines, for nearly a week. And it won't be going away anytime soon. I expect we're going to be hearing more still, a lot more.

No doubt in my mind that the worst about #Bergdahl is to come.
— Kathleen McKinley (@KatMcKinley) June 5, 2014

Added: More from Time, "Behind the Scenes of Bowe Bergdahl’s Release."

Althouse Has the Must-Reads on MoDo's Mary Jane O'dose

See, "Maureen Dowd went to Colorado, ate some marijuana candy, and had an 8-hour freakout":

I'm surprised she's willing to write openly about violating federal criminal law. On-the-books felony laws would be enough to silence me, but I would also think that a person who at least poses as smart wouldn't want to admit that she made the classic idiot's mistake of choosing edible marijuana — which takes some time to kick in — eating some and then — after not feeling enough — eating some more.

Yeah, it's surprising alright --- surprising that a liberal 62-year-old New York Times columnist is so clueless about marijuana.

More at Althouse, "Maureen Dowd 'got the warning... She did what all the reporters did. She listened. She bought some samples...'" (And at Memeorandum.)

The Obama Administration's Treasonous Lack of Transparency on Bowe #Bergdahl

Here's the report on Richard Engel at Breitbart yesterday, "NBC's Richard Engel: Taliban More 'Forthcoming with Information' Than U.S."

And here's this from today's "Morning Joe." So sad we're to the point of laughing at how forthcoming are the murderous Taliban:

The Ghastly Transaction That Freed Sgt. Bowe #Bergdahl

From former Attorney General Michael Mukasey (via Memeorandum):

The seeds of what blossomed grotesquely in the Rose Garden last weekend — a celebration of the release of five senior Taliban military leaders in exchange for a U.S. sergeant purported to be a deserter — were sown a long time ago: on the second and third days of President Obama’s first term, to be precise.

On his second day in office, the president signed an executive order directing that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility be closed. You can watch the cringe-inducing video of the signing ceremony on YouTube, as the president stumbles through a reading of the order to close the facility “consistent with the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice,” signs with a flourish, and asks then-White House counsel Greg Craig, whether there is a separate executive order describing what is to be done with the Guantanamo detainees; Craig is heard to reply off camera that “a process” will be set up, whereupon the president repeats solemnly into the camera that “a process” will be set up.

The following day, the president met with congressional leaders to discuss his economic stimulus. When Republican House whip Eric Cantor offered some suggestions, the president reminded him and others of the vanquished who were present that “elections have consequences” and “I won.”

The president apparently hadn’t thought through how he would accomplish the goal and serve the interests he had announced. But he had indeed won.

Fast forward, and characteristically the Obama administration has apologized only for the least of the president’s transgressions in this sorry affair: his failure to consult Congress 30 days in advance of freeing any Guantanamo detainees, as required by the National Defense Authorization Act. At the time the president signed that law he issued an accompanying signing statement taking the position, I believe probably correctly, that the law is unconstitutional as a restriction on his Article II executive powers. However, his own criticism of his predecessor for alleged misuse of executive authority apparently left him diffident about relying on that, so he relied instead on two excuses with neither legal nor factual basis: concern for the rapid deterioration of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s health, which does not explain why no notice was given; and simple neglect due to the rush of events, which contradicts the first.

It is difficult to believe that the president actually understood last weekend the enormity of what he had done...

Keep reading.