Rep. Mike Rogers on #Bergdahl: 'We Have Now Set a Price' on American Lives (VIDEO)

Via Free Beacon, "Mike Rogers on Negotiating for Soldier's Release: 'We Have Now Set a Price'."

Special Forces Arranged #Bergdahl Release Directly with Taliban

At the Washington Post, "Hagel discusses details of U.S. operation to exchange Taliban detainees for captive soldier."

Hats off to U.S. forces performing their duty admirably.

Taliban 'IEDs Started Being Placed More Effectively' After Bowe #Bergdahl Desertion

Be sure to click through at this tweet from Louise Mensch:

Some bad stuff going on with #Bergdahl, his father and Obama. Will come out sooner rather than later, I expect. http://t.co/XnrglKlsuD
— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) June 1, 2014

Take a look especially at CodyFNfootball's timeline:

IEDs started being placed more effectively in the coming weeks. Ambushes were more calculated, cover and concealment was used
— _ (@CodyFNfootball) June 1, 2014

PREVIOUSLY: "U.S. Special Forces Back Channel Account on Bowe Bergdahl Desertion."

Sunday Cartoons

At Flopping Aces, "Sunday Funnies."



Also at Randy's Roundtable, "Reaganite's SUNDAY FUNNIES," and Legal Insurrection, "Branco Cartoon – Operation Enduring Weakness."

Still more at Theo's, "Cartoon Roundup," and "From Director Blue................... ERIC CANTOR: Brazenly Lying to the People of Virginia in order to Cram Amnesty Down Our Throats."

Obama Knows He Can Ignore Scandal with Impunity — #Impeachment

From Andrew McCarthy, at the New York Post:

Facts suggest vets delayed own tests to make Obama look bad http://t.co/sR4pmY8Tzf #TCOT pic.twitter.com/6LmnjWcKOM
— The People's Cube (@ThePeoplesCube) May 30, 2014

President Obama’s record of lawlessness is prodigious. There is the assumption of a power to rule by presidential decree — unilaterally amending ObamaCare provisions, immigration statutes, and other enactments in flagrant disregard of Congress’s constitutional power to write the laws.

There is rampant fraud on the American people — think: “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan, period,” just for a start. In the Benghazi massacre, we see the arc of administration malfeasance: In the absence of congressional authorization, the president instigated an unprovoked and ultimately disastrous war in Libya, empowering virulently anti-American Islamic supremacists.

He then recklessly failed to provide adequate security for US officials who, for reasons that remain mysterious, were dispatched to Benghazi, one of the most dangerous places on the planet for Americans.

Finally, when four Americans including our ambassador were predictably killed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2012, the president took no action to rescue them during the siege and then led a tireless campaign to blame an anti-Muslim video, rather than his wayward policy of empowering Islamists — even trumping up a prosecution against the video producer in violation of the First Amendment.

Making recess appointments when the Senate is not in recess.

Ignoring court orders. Refusing to enforce the immigration laws.

A Justice Department run amok: politicized prosecution, racially discriminatory enforcement of the civil rights laws, and Fast & Furious — a program that intentionally transferred thousands of guns to Mexican criminal gangs, resulting in the murder of a US border patrol agent.

The list goes on. In fact, Obama’s behavior would easily satisfy the Constitution’s standard for removing a president from power...

Lots more.

Guantánamo Terrorists Arrive in Taliban Headquarters in Qatar

From Debra Burlingame:

Breaking: Taliban leaders released from GITMO arrive at Qatar Taliban office. Good job, Barack! Here are the guys who won't be coming home: PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews, were all KIA from Bergdahl's unit who died looking for him.

Added: From Long War Journal, "Mullah Omar hails release of 5 top Taliban commanders as 'great victory'."



PREVIOUSLY: "U.S. Special Forces Back Channel Account on Bowe Bergdahl Desertion."

U.S. Special Forces Back Channel Account on Bowe Bergdahl Desertion

From Stormbringer, "PRISONER EXCHANGE: U.S. soldier Bergdahl freed from captivity in Afghanistan":

Forwarded from the secret Special Forces unauthorized back channel frequency:

"We were at OP Mest, Paktika Province, Afghanistan. It was a small outpost where B Co 1-501st INF (Airbone) ran operations out of, just an Infantry platoon and ANA counterparts there. The place was an Afghan graveyard. Bergdahl had been acting a little strange, telling people he wanted to "walk the earth" and kept a little journal talking about how he was meant for better things. No one thought anything about it. He was a little “out there”. Next morning he's gone. We search everywhere, and can't find him. He left his weapon, his kit, and other sensitive items. He only took some water, a compass and a knife. We find some afghan kids shortly after who saw an american walking north asking about where the taliban are. We get hits on our voice intercepter that Taliban has him, and we were close. We come to realize that the kid deserted his post, snuck out of camp and sought out Taliban… to join them. We were in a defensive position at OP Mest, where your focus is to keep people out. He knew where the blind spots were to slip out and that's what he did. It was supposed to be a 4-day mission but turned into several months of active searching. Everyone was spun up to find this guy. News outlets all over the country were putting out false information. It was hard to see, especially when we knew the truth about what happened and we lost good men trying to find him. PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews, were all KIA from our unit who died looking for Bergdahl. Many others from various units were wounded or killed while actively looking for Bergdahl. Fighting Increased. IEDs and enemy ambushes increased. The Taliban knew that we were looking for him in high numbers and our movements were predictable. Because of Bergdahl, more men were out in danger, and more attacks on friendly camps and positions were conducted while we were out looking for him. His actions impacted the region more than anyone wants to admit. There is also no way to know what he told the Taliban: Our movements, locations, tactics, weak points on vehicles and other things for the enemy to exploit are just a few possibilities. The Government knows full well that he deserted. It looks bad and is a good propaganda piece for the Taliban. They refuse to acknowledge it. Hell they even promoted him to Sergeant which makes me sick. I feel for his family who only want their son/brother back. They don’t know the truth, or refuse to acknowledge it as well. What he did affected his family and his whole town back home, who don’t know the truth. Either way what matters is that good men died because of him. He has been lying on all those Taliban videos about everything since his “capture”. If he ever returns, he should be tried under the UCMJ for being a deserter and judged for what he did. Bergdahl is not a hero, he is not a soldier or an Infantryman. He failed his brothers. Now, sons and daughters are growing up without their fathers who died for him and he will have to face that truth someday."

And be sure to read the comments at the post.

More at Michelle Malkin, "Flashback: A reminder about Bowe Bergdahl’s desertion problem."

Also from Lieutenant Colonel Allan West, "Amidst celebrations for Bergdahl’s release, some unsettling questions, and This Ain't Hell, "The military reaction to Bergdahl is not charitable":

I suspect that Bergdahl is a stank-ass hippie who accidentally joined the Army and decided to smell some Afghan flowers one night. I have no doubts that he thought that the Taliban or Haqqani Network would welcome him open arms, you know because of his inherent stank-ass hippie naivete. I have no doubts that he tried to escape from them at some point because, he escaped from the Army when things weren't what he thought they’d be.

I also think that Shinseki resigned, along with Jay Carney yesterday because they knew the news would be swallowed up by the news that Bergdahl was released – I’m sure the news on tomorrow’s Sunday shows will be about the release of Bergdahl and how the President pulled off this great victory, and it will all be an attempt to cover up the scandals which are legion. By Monday, there will be no scandal about the VA – because Shinseki resigned and because “Bergdahl!”

And, oh, yeah, Bergdahl will be treated as a hero instead of the little coward deserter that he is. If he makes it to a court martial, he’ll get slapped on the wrist, get an honorable discharge and go on his merry way to co-write a book.

PREVIOUSLY: "Backlash as Bowe #Bergdahl Swapped for Top Five Taliban Commanders at Guantánamo."

Obama's Afghanistan Withdrawal Announcement Tied to Release of Bowe #Bergdahl

From Josh Rogin, at the Daily Beast.

Yes, the troop withdrawal announcement was related to the release of Bowe #Bergdahl http://t.co/z0YV5RNtQy

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) May 31, 2014

Click through at the link. The White House wanted "proof of life" in order to continue troop pullout negotiations with the government in Afghanistan, to help pave the way for latter's "reconciliation" with the Taliban.

Syria Suicide Bomber Moner Mohammad Abusalha ID'd as American From Florida

Gateway Pundit had this on Friday, "Moner Mohammad Abusalha From Florida ID’d as American Suicide Bomber in Syria."

And now at the Wall Street Journal, "From Florida Boy to Alleged Suicide Bomber in Syria: Acquaintances Describe Moner Abu-Salha as Friendly, Sociable Young Man":

VERO BEACH, Fla.—Years before he became an alleged suicide bomber in Syria, Moner Abu-Salha was known as a friendly, sociable young man in a tidy, gated neighborhood, here where he grew up. "He was a normal, everyday kid," said Mark Hill, who lives across the street from Mr. Abu-Salha's parents. "He was very pleasant, very polite."

It is a starkly different picture from the one U.S. officials painted on Friday, saying Mr. Abu-Salha was believed to be the first American to carry out a suicide bomb attack in the Syrian civil war. Officials gave his name, saying they had more than one spelling of it, and said he was believed to have died in a truck-bomb explosion last weekend. He was 22 years old, according to public records.

A number of attempts to contact Mr. Abu-Salha's family members failed. At the single-story house where neighbors said Mr. Abu-Salha's family lived, a woman declined to open the door and said, "No comment, no comment."

Neighbors, friends and acquaintances said Saturday they were shocked at the idea that the affable boy they once knew could have turned so extreme. But some said in recent years he had changed, adopting a more religious posture.

Mr. Abu-Salha, whose father was from Jordan and whose mother was an American who converted to Islam, grew up in an observant Muslim household, said Jessica Miller, a friend of Mr. Abu-Salha's younger sister. The father—who has owned grocery stores, according to public records—was strict and expected to have dinner ready and the house in order when he returned from work, she said. Mr. Abu-Salha and his wife are still partial owners of the Al-Noor Grocery Inc. in Melbourne, Fla., according to a woman who answered the phone there. She declined to comment further...

Continue reading.

VIDEO: "Suicide Bombing Carried Out by American."

Robert Bergdahl's #Taliban Tweets: Allāhu Akbar!

Freakin' a, this whole story gets more bizarre by the minute.

At Sooper Mexican, "Father of American Soldier Freed From Taliban Deletes a Very Disturbing Tweet."

Also at Twitchy, "‘Working to free all Guantanamo prisoners’ tweet from account of released soldier’s father deleted."

And Atlas Shrugs, "AWOL Traitor Traded for Taliban Terrorists: “In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful,’’ AWOL soldier’s dad said in Arabic."

Bob Bergdahl's "I am still working to free all Guantanamo prisoners" tweet is down the memory hole, but Allāhu Akbar!

To every single person who worked so hard to make this recovery possible, WE LOVE YOU! GOD IS GREAT AND HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER!

— Robert Bergdahl (@bobbergdahl) May 31, 2014

Man, that's must have been some brilliant trade. An AWOL deserting traitor son swapped for five of the top Taliban al-Qaeda held at Guantanamo. It's a f-kng coup! Penetrating the Manchurian presidency!

More at Sooper, "American Soldier Who Served With Bowe Bergdahl Casts Doubt on Official Story; Fears Reprisal From Obama Administration."

SpaceX Unveils Sleek Reusable Dragon V2 Capsule

At Instapundit, "Just in time..."

FEMEN Anti-Fascist Protesters in France

Well, these ladies are a relief compared to the monstrous #YesAllWomen feminists.

At WWTDD, "FEMEN Protesters Frenched Up."

And video at Live Leak, "France: FEMEN nurses protest far-right Le Pen's vote."

BONUS: ICYMI, my earlier entries on European Parliament Elections.

Backlash as Bowe #Bergdahl Swapped for Top Five Taliban Commanders at Guantánamo

Following-up from earlier, "Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Freed in Prisoner Swap With the Taliban."

And thinking of the controversy over Israel's prisoner exchanges of recent years, I was expecting a backlash with the Bowe deal. And here it comes.

At the Washington Post, "Bergdahl release arrangement could threaten the safety of Americans, Republicans say" (via Memeorandum).

Also at Pat Dollard, "EXPOSED: Obama Released the Five Most Dangerous Taliban Commanders In Captivity for Deadly, Self-Serving PR Stunt."

And at Patterico's, "L.A. Times Celebrates Trade of Five Taliban GTMO Detainees for U.S. Soldier — Without Telling You Who Those Detainees Are," and the Daily Beast, "Here are the Taliban Terrorists Obama Released to Free POW Bowe Bergdahl."

Still more at Long War Journal, "Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl exchanged for top 5 Taliban commanders at Gitmo."

Take a close look America, these 5 will be involved in the killing of Americans, courtesy of Barack Hussein Obama. pic.twitter.com/LDvE0xo39I

— Bob Sakuta (@meandmorningjoe) May 31, 2014

Bowe's disappearance was questionable at the time. Not only was he suspected of walking off base, abandoning his position, he dissed the American command in emails to his parents. CBS News has that, from 2012, "Bowe Bergdahl, U.S. soldier held by Taliban, was 'ashamed to be American,' emails show." Mentioned there is Rolling Stone's article from that year, by the late Michael Hastings, "America's Last Prisoner of War, which included the key email passages:

Over the next month, as he saw more of the war firsthand, Bowe's e-mails to his family lost their sense of absurdity and took on a darker edge. In one heartbreaking incident at the end of May, an Afghan official and four of his children were killed in a Taliban attack. The bodies were moved to Bowe's outpost, along with a wounded Afghan police officer....

Then, on June 25th, Bowe's battalion suffered its first casualty of the deployment. A popular officer, 1st Lt. Brian Bradshaw, was killed in a blast from a roadside bomb near the village of Yaya Kheyl, not far from the outpost. Though Bradshaw was in a different company, the 24-year-old's death rocked the unit, shattering the sense of invulnerability that accompanies those who have just arrived in country. Bowe's father believes that Bradshaw and Bowe had grown close at the National Training Center, and his death darkened his son's mood. It was all too much for Bowe. On June 27th, he sent what would be his final e-mai­[l] to his parents. It was a lengthy message documenting his complete disillusionment with the war effort. He opened it by addressing it simply to "mom, dad."

"The future is too good to waste on lies," Bowe wrote. "And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong. I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be american. The horror of the self-righteous arrogance that they thrive in. It is all revolting." The e-mail went on to list a series of complaints: Three good sergeants, Bowe said, had been forced to move to another company, and "one of the biggest shit bags is being put in charge of the team." His battalion commander was a "conceited old fool." The military system itself was broken: "In the US army you are cut down for being honest... but if you are a conceited brown nosing shit bag you will be allowed to do what ever you want, and you will be handed your higher rank...

The system is wrong. I am ashamed to be an american. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools." The soldiers he actually admired were planning on leaving: "The US army is the biggest joke the world has to laugh at. It is the army of liars, backstabbers, fools, and bullies. The few good SGTs are getting out as soon as they can, and they are telling us privates to do the same."

Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters minced no words in 2009, calling Bowe a bald-face liar, and suggested that "the Taliban can save us a lot of legal hassles and legal bills" if they went ahead and killed Bowe:

Google's 'Right to Be Forgotten' Form Gets Over 12,000 Requests on First Day

Well, too bad this is only available in Europe. I know a couple of depraved hate-trolls who'd love to complete the form.

At the Wall Street Journal, "On Day 1 of European Take-Down Site, Google Hit by Wave of Requests."

And at Re/Code, "Begrudgingly, Google Offers a Form for People Who Want to Be Forgotten."

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Freed in Prisoner Swap With the Taliban

My god what a story!

At the New York Times, "U.S. Soldier Freed by Taliban in Trade: 5 Prisoners Swapped for P.O.W. Held in Afghanistan" (at Memeorandum):

WASHINGTON — The lone American prisoner of war from the Afghan conflict, captured by insurgents nearly five years ago, has been released to American forces in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday.

The soldier, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed over to American Special Operations troops inside Afghanistan near the Pakistan border about 10:30 a.m. Saturday in a tense but uneventful exchange with 18 Taliban officials, American officials said. Moments later, Sergeant Bergdahl was whisked away by the helicopter-borne commandos, American officials said. He was found in good condition and able to walk.

The five Taliban detainees at Guantánamo, including two senior militant commanders said to be implicated in murdering thousands of Shiites in Afghanistan, were being transferred to the custody of officials from Qatar, who will accompany them back to that Persian Gulf state, where they will be subject to security restrictions, including a one-year travel ban.

More.

Plus at IJR, "Breaking: America Negotiates With Terrorists to Have Last American Prisoner Released by Taliban."

FLASHBACK: "FULL VIDEO: Captured by the Taliban, US Soldier Bowe R. Bergdahl Speaks."

Obama Blows Baghdad Jay Carney Goodbye Kiss!

Shoot, I missed this in my earlier report!

He freakin' puckers up and blows him a pretty boy smooch.

Unbefreakin'lievable!

At BizPac Review, "President Obama blows Jay Carney goodbye kiss: ‘Can’t un-see this!’"

Obama gives Jay Carney an extra special goodbye: https://t.co/pSSfDOZYfU
— Michael Deppisch (@deppisch) May 30, 2014

@deppisch WTF was that? No man does that! I said MAN! EEEEEEW! Hey #msnbc there is a story! Oh nevermind,little Jay's is headed on over!

— penny green (@penne59) May 31, 2014

CNN Correspondent Ivan Watson Arrested While Reporting Live in Istanbul, Turkey

At Blazing Cat Fur, "Turkey: CNN reporter detained by police on air."

Jessica Simpson Amps Up Workouts with 'Six Miles a Day' on Treadmill

Following up from yesterday, here's more Jessica Simpson Rule 5 goodness.

At London's Daily Mail, "Slim Jessica Simpson amps up usual workout to include 'six miles a day' on treadmill to prepare for July 4th wedding."

She's an awesome babe.

pic.twitter.com/OIO3qZGpWc
— Jessica Simpson (@JessicaSimpson) May 27, 2014

Indiana University's Parker Mantell Delivers Awesome Commencement Speech

He's a political science major and an awesome inspiration.

And he interned with Republicans holla!

At College Insurrection, "Indiana University Student With Stutter Wows Crowd With Commencement Speech."

Watch that standing ovation!

Parents Read Vet Son's Suicide Note On Air: CNN Anchor Breaks Down

It's Brooke Baldwin breaking down after parents Howard and Jean Somers read their son Daniel's note.

Background at WaPo, "Daniel Somers’s suicide, his family has a new mission: Improve VA services."

Via Conservative Hideout.



Also, ICYMI, "Why the Troops Diss Obama."