Bowe Bergdahl controversy: obfuscate, distract, spin, repeat

Bowe Bergdahl controversy just oligarch political tactics: obfuscate facts, distract from more harmful topics, spin the narrative, repeat until public loses interest

Bowe Bergdahl controversy just a distraction |  IMAGE CREDIT: P-G Matuszak using public domain photographs

The Bowe Bergdahl controversy is important. The events draw ire, outrage, and righteous indignation from citizens. In reality, there are far too many unanswered questions to make an assessment or formulate an opinion based upon concrete evidence and facts. The questions can be answered only through thorough investigations by counter-intelligence, military, congressional, and specialized law enforcement personnel.

High level military commanders, particularly US Army leadership, need to initiate 15-6 investigations and, if warranted, Article 31 ad 32 proceedings. FBI and CIA counter-intelligence personnel need to assist. Congress needs to do its duty to oversee these investigations to insure they are proper and thorough. Any of the above failing to do so is dishonorable. So is prosecuting the young man should the in-depth investigations prove fruitless.

The importance of the controversy ends with questions concerning the legality and constitutionality of the prisoner swap. POW swaps are not new. Our nation has done them since the 1770s. We did them during the War of 1812. We did them during the Civil War. We did them in WWI and WWII. We did them during Korea and Vietnam. We did them throughout the whole Cold War. The difference here is that the Taliban is not a recognized government in charge of any recognized sovereign nation.

What should concern citizens is this administration’s habit of using manufactured crises, natural disasters, and other incidents to distract from potentially more important issues. Those issues and investigations could prove detrimental to the administration’s narrative and credibility as they all bring the administration’s and its vaunted bureaucracy’s integrity into doubt. Looking over the past few years, that integrity is fragile and tenuous at best.

Here are but a few examples of issues the administration wants ignored:

• Fast and Furious — the US Department of Justice sold guns to drug cartels and sex slavers. They affixed no tracking or tracing architecture or equipment to those weapons other than a list of serial numbers. The cartels used the weapons to kill American and Mexican civilians as well as US Border Patrol officers.

• Benghazi — the Administration refused a Non-combattant Evacuation Operation (NEO) mission, terrorists murdered four Americans, the Secretary of State and the President blamed it on an unaffiliated video.
• IRS Targeting — the IRS allegedly delayed the approval process for 501c organizations because of their perceived political leanings. In addition, they singled-out leaders of these organizations for special, invasive audits.
• Obamacare roll-out — this was a disaster. The website cost far more than better sites. The site didn’t work. It cost even more to fix. It was a galactic waste of taxpayer money. To top it off, the average premium nearly doubled and average deductibles tripled. Instead of making insurance more affordable, it made it less.
• The VA scandals — yes, plural. First, the fraudulent use of taxpayer funds for so-called “training conferences” that were more dance party and drunk-fest than actual training. These funds could have been used to hire contractors with knowledge and facilities to actually help disabled veterans, particularly those with PTSD and/or TBI. Next came the scandal that alleged VA health administrative workers destroyed assessment applications, medical records, and other important paperwork. That caused veterans to be denied care for service-connected injuries. Now, the “gaming” scandal involving the secret waiting lists for veterans seeking medical appointments. Perhaps there are so many homeless veterans because the VA mismanages applications for VA home loans as well? How about the GI Bill? Is that being managed properly? How many schools and/or veterans are being stiffed by the VA not doing their job?
• Executive bureaucracy overreach — EPA regulations, BLM seizing land from sovereign states, HHS regulations, USDA allowing EBT cards to be used in convenience stores and fast food restaurants, and the  US Dept. of Education force feeding Common Core to states through the federal school lunch program, Race to the Top and o Child Left Behind policies.

Notice that the administration released news about the Bergdahl prisoner swap soon after announcing Eric Shinseki’s resignation. The administration wants to distract and obfuscate from this latest scandal. They want the public to forget about it, it’s “old news” after all. Shinseki resigned, so it’s all fixed, right? Well, that is what the administration wants you to think.

1. Obfuscate — Shinseki resigned, that should be enough action to please the masses
2. Distract — Get the public worked up over one guy. They’ll be too involved in griping about Bergdahl and inaction regarding Andrew Tahmooressi to pay attention to what we do or don’t do in regards to the other scandals, or the failing economic policies, or the increased EPA regulations that will cause their electric bills to skyrocket. It will distract from the stupid idea to pull out of Iraq too early and surrender it to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al Q’aeda. 
3. Spin — The Bergdahl exchange was necessary to open communication with the Taliban. That is important to our surrender in Afghanistan. The controversy over authority, policy, Bowe’s real allegiance, etc. is easy to spin. The administration takes one side, then seems to capitulate and opens investigations.
4. Repeat — Find another Sandra Fluke to give 15 minutes of fame. Give another speech about unskilled, uneducated workers deserving wages equal to somebody with a masters degree. Tell BLM to go threaten to steal another rancher’s cattle. Find another pink-shoe wearing princess in Texas with a manufactured history. Spin people up about the poor Central American children whose parents smuggled them into Texas illegally.

After all, this is an important election year. The oligarchs face losing control of the Senate. They face important races to retake the House. The oligarchs cannot allow voters to focus on facts, the truth, corruption, or anything that questions the ruling class’s integrity.

There is a song by Creed entitled Who’s Got My Back? Perhaps patriots need to conduct some psychological operations on DC, driving around the Capitol and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue blasting the song.

Who’s got my back now?
When all we have left is deceptive
So disconnected
What is the truth now?

What is the truth now?
Tell me the truth now
What is the truth now?

What is the truth now?
Tell us the truth