Serial Podcast Season 2 Episode 10 – Reflection

This episode was about Bergdahl’s rescue operation. Who knew? Why was Congress lied to? Did the rescue mission break laws? A lot of outrage stemmed from the seemingly hero like coverage on the news when announcing Bergdahl’s safety. Another source of outrage was the question of whether Bowe Bergdahl was worth releasing five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay. The media and political response to Bowe’s rescue made me more sympathetic to Bowe’s case because people were attacking the administration for using the opportunity to rescue an American citizen never mind a POW. People were implying that rescuing Bowe was wrong because a deserters life was not worth five detainees, who still hadn’t been charged, that were sitting at Guantanamo Bay. One of the military values is leave no man behind and this is even true in death. The US even has military unit whose job is to find and collect the remains of soldiers who died in previous wars. One of the reasons, Bowe was traded was because the proof of life video the Taliban sent the US indicated that Bowe was in extremely poor health. Some congressman were furious with the trade because Congress is supposed to be notified 30 day before transfers out of Guantanamo Bay. I think Congress failed to understand that by notifying Congress, would jeopardize Bowe’s life because the transfer would be cancelled if word got out. I think the contradictions in US policies make me more sympathetic towards Bowe’s case because if the government didn’t rescue Bowe they would be violating US military policy however to rescue Bowe they had to lie to Congress and they were essentially negotiated with terrorists. People were putting the assumption of desertion, releasing detainees and the concept of lying to Congress over the concept of saving a US citizens life which is a key value of the US.