re: Last soldier held captive in Afghanistan released.

I'm Active Duty military and I can't believe we made this exchange.

Does no one see the ramifications of what our administration has just done?

We have held a hardline stance on not negotiating with terrorists for decades and now we give in to their demands for a guy that may or may not have deserted?

This will lead to more American abductions world-wide. Terrorists will now believe that they can ask for whatever they want by kidnapping American citizens and the government will consider it.

This is a sad day for this country.

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PS: They kidnap Americans for the PR, not the ransom and they'll do it no matter what the federal policy is.

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And they normally cut off their head. Why was this guy kept alive? Fishy

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We have held a hardline stance on not negotiating with terrorists for decades

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That may be the official "policy" but you know we negotiate with terrorists. We have for decades. That's all political BS, IMO. We have a policy, and we have the way things really work.

I do think we paid an awfully high price for this one guy, especially based on the questionable circumstances. But very glad an American is home. And I wouldn't be surprised if those 5 don't survive their year in Quatar. Isn't that one of the countries where the CIA makes visits to torture prisoners for sensitive information?

As for his dad and those tweets? Hmmm... I can't imagine how screwed up someone would be though, after having a child in Taliban captivity for years.

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That may be the official "policy" but you know we negotiate with terrorists. We have for decades.

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I was starting to wonder if this knowledge was exclusive to me.

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They are tied with the Taliban but want to be the self governing orginization that is left in their native country. THey are getting lots of facetime and Taliban $$ for this deal that will accelerate their growth faster and further than ever when the benefits couple with US troop removal..

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So it's not so weird that they'd keep an American soldier alive as a bartering chip?

'Cause that sounds like motive to me -- I don't work for CSI or nothin'...

I said it "makes a little sense", not "makes little sense".. I completely understand why he was kept alive. The Taliban or Al Qaeda would've got out the sword and camera on his arse.. Haqqanis have always been there and are locally deeper rooted unlike the global terrorist networks.

When money got tight towards the 2011-12 portion of the war, the Haqqanis wern't very versitle without Taliban $$ since they were cinched in. They had to work on a week by week basis and needed all the help they could get. They will receive big money for this and Al Qaeda gets 5 high rollers back.

We got our alleged deserter in return.

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The $$ sure, but I have no idea if they'll actually get those guys back without a drone coming.

I would never leave it up to our government to not put a subdermal chip in someone to track them later.

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I hope both of these things happen personally.

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A lot of politics were at play with this and if I were a terrorist there's little reason to kill a captive if we can use him as a chip later.

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There's also little reason to kill a deserter from the opposing army who's working with you to betray his own troops.

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Evidence. Not second-hand testimony or biased witnesses.

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This is what I'm waiting on before I cry Bacha bazi.. In the meantime, Glad he's home.

Those testaments from his family are useless though. What well educated person thinks the Army is "peace corp with guns" then joins a fricking Airborne Infantry unit?

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A captured American soldier is training Taliban fighters bomb-making and ambush skills, according to one of his captors and Afghan intelligence officials.


Posted this in the other thread. I'll add it here.

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This is just as silly as the other allegations. We have an unnamed Taliban Kidnapper -- BUT WAIT.

We also have an unnamed Afghani intelligence officer. Thank heavens these sources can be trusted wholeheartedly and not questioned at all!

It's also highly suspicious that the source said that they told him to take off all of his clothing and then they burned it -- yet in his video he's shown with DCU's and, his PT jacket and cover. (I'm Navy, not Army so if those are wrong -- just swap it with military regalia that was clearly issued to him). So apparently his captors said: Okay we threw away your Army clothing but here -- wear this.

Most of the skills he taught us we already knew,' he said. 'Some of my comrades think he's pretending to be a Muslim to save himself so they wouldn't behead him.'

No!