The Ever-Changing Bowe Bergdahl Narrative

The Obama administration presented news of the Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl trade alongside a narrative designed to explain why five Taliban commanders were exchanged for one member of the U.S. Army referred to as a “deserter” by those who served with him.

It appeared to be a glorious celebration. President Obama met Mr. and Mrs. Bergdahl in the Rose Garden to triumphantly announce that America had freed captive Sgt. Bergdahl from the ruthless Taliban. Obama said to the Berghdal family, “I know I speak for all Americans when I say we cannot wait for the moment when you are reunited and your son Bowe is back in your arms.” National Security Adviser Susan Rice announced on television that Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction.” A hero was coming home, we were told.

The mainstream media largely overlooked the fact that the administration usurped the authority of Congress to bring Bergdahl home. Susan Rice’s rationale was that there was an immediate threat to his life, while Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel added that his health had been rapidly deteriorating.

The Obama administration successfully drove the narrative home, so they thought.

The White House did not calculate that our real heroes would yet again step up to the plate to tell the truth about Bergdahl, putting their careers on the line and defying a non-disclosure agreement forcibly imposed upon them. Unanimously, his Army team members told us Bergdahl was no hero, that he was a deserter at best and a defector or traitor at worst. We learned that six of America’s bravest were killed and dozens wounded in Afghanistan on missions to retrieve Bergdahl from Taliban captivity. A private note written by Bergdahl was leaked to the media, in which he wrote, “The horror that is America is disgusting.” It was revealed for the world to see that Sgt. Bergdahl did not at all appear to resemble the man Rice said “served with honor and distinction.”

The administration went into panic mode. An official asked, “What if his platoon was long on psychopaths and short on leadership?” In response to the new allegations, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf denounced the Army team members’ unanimous accusations, declaring that reporters must “google it on the web” to find alternative accounts that would confirm the White House’s narrative.

Now, after calculating that they will not escape widespread condemnation for trading five of the world’s worst terrorists for Sgt. Bergdahl, the Obama White House has squarely placed blame on Sec. of Defense Hagel for the Bergdahl exchange. In a classified briefing Monday, administration officials told members of Congress that Hagel made the final decision to bring Bergdahl home. However, Hagel’s own account of the administration’s actions last week dispute that narrative.

There is no telling what the Obama administration will tell us next, as their ever-changing Bergdahl narrative continues.