October 12, 2015

This morning's Dealing With The Enemy section on Fox and Friends dealt with the usual imaginary enemies. Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger stopped by to bash released Army. P.O.W. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and President Obama's Syria strategy. Ultimately, he spoke of his own Republican Party's Freedom Caucus for which he also had a few harsh words. In this three and a half minute interview, we managed to get thirty seconds of sanity, which is more than usual for a Brian Kilmeade segment.

The 'enemy' in this case is a U.S. soldier who spent five years in Taliban captivity. Even the Army has recommended no charges of desertion should be filed against Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, but Kinzinger is parroting the lies that his 'desertion' led to the deaths of six soldiers, which has not been confirmed by any official investigation, just soldiers with ulterior motives. GOP strategists have been conferring with soldiers who have a grudge against Bergdahl and conservative politicians and media have made every attempt to smear the P.O.W.'s name.

Many know that it's a good thing that

'the President made this call and not Congress because if it had been up to them Bergdahl would have been beheaded, just as Fox News argued he should be two years ago for "Desertion".'

Naturally, Kinzinger subscribes to the smear job by the right wing military critics. Bergdahl's lawyer, Eugene Fidell explains a different reality:

' Everybody in the picture understood that Sergeant Bergdahl was a prisoner of war. The International Law of Armed Conflict doesn’t distinguish between prisoners of war who are—or prisoners who are absent without leave versus prisoners who are not absent without leave. The status is precisely the same under international humanitarian law, as it’s called. And I think it’s preposterous that the Army at this late date might even consider changing his status. After all, you know, he was locked up by the other side in the most horrible conditions, conditions that none of us would possibly ever want to endure, and he endured them for five years. To his credit, I think, he did what soldiers are supposed to do when they’re taken prisoner and attempted to escape. That’s part of the soldier’s code. He attempted to escape something like 12 times, starting from the very beginning. And the Taliban punished him severely when they caught him again and again.'

No matter what facts emerge regarding Bergdahl, the right wing, led by folks like Kinzinger, have already convicted him of a capital crime. The Aaron Schock-esque-without-the-Instagram Republican, doesn't allocate any culpability for Bush's illegal invasion of Iraq for the conditions that created ISIS and allowed the terrorist group to grow. He blames the U.S.'s unwillingness to fight Assad, and the concentration exclusively on tackling ISIS. However, he feels that Assad is the reason for ISIS, not the GOP Hawks who Rand Paul (correctly) blames for the rise of the death cult.

As a member of the U.S. military, you'd think Adam would have the decorum to treat his Commander in Chief with respect. Instead, he accuses the President of lying and never admitting a mistake, which is utterly false, as he's the first person to admit his mistakes. On 60 Minutes, President Obama explained that there is no 'silver bullet' or panacea that will fix the incredibly complex problems created by myriad conundrums within Syria. He claims we've wasted hundreds of millions on the quagmire, but mentions not a penny of the several trillion dollars the Afghan and Iraq Wars have cost this country.

Finally, Kinzinger berates the Freedom Caucus of his party for creating mayhem in the House. He has launched a battle against the extremist group. He wrote:

These profiteers hijacking the tea party label for their own self-interest are neither Republicans nor conservatives, and they certainly don't represent the best of any wing of our party.

He supports Paul Ryan, but isn't too sure he will take the job as Speaker. Kinzinger is wary of dissent against Ryan because of the internal strife it creates in the G.O.P. He wants the House Republicans to have a family conversation, as they are a family of 247 and a group of less than 40 shouldn't hold the party hostage.

I wouldn't mind if the Freedom Caucus continues to wreak havoc on the Republicans in the name of the false purity of 'Tea Party ideology.' It's certainly much better for the rational Democratic Party if they behave like obstinate toddlers.

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