What is the Real Deal with Bowe Bergdahl?

Capt Walter Miller — Sat, 12 Dec 2015 06:29:52 -0500

"It’s easy to see why “Serial” would be interested in the Bergdahl story. Like Adnan Syed, Bergdahl is a man whose testimony you can never be quite sure of, and the first episode already sucks the listener in with the confounding question of whether he’s lying, telling the truth, or something in between. And, as with Syed’s case, there are a lot of other people involved, many with contradictory ideas about what happened and their own agendas that might make their testimony suspect.

But there is one major difference these two stories. While the Syed season riffed on issues of racism and criminal justice, ultimately the story was still a small, personal one. The question of whether Syed killed his girlfriend in a jealous rage doesn’t have a larger political impact.

But Bergdahl’s story is already a major culture war touchstone, especially for conservatives. What “Serial” turns up in their investigation could have major political ramifications, especially in a time of heightened sensitivity about the “war on terror” and an already contentious presidential race that’s only now beginning to head into the primary season.

The first round of pieces pegged to “Serial” at various media oulets has come out, and they are surprisingly light on politics, mostly focusing on explainer-type articles laying out the known facts about the Bergdahl case. There’s an acknowledgement of partisan controversy around his case, but that’s being downplayed over excitement over digging deeper into what is, by any measure, a downright weird story.

This all makes a certain amount of sense. The NPR-listening, liberal-leaning audience for “Serial” probably only has a vague awareness of the Bergdahl case and the controversy around it. To anyone outside the right-wing bubble, Bergdahl’s story is little more than an intriguing mystery. But within conservative circles, Bergdahl is second only to ¡Bënghazi! in generating right-wing hysteria and conspiracy theories about the Obama administration’s handling of the “war on terror” and foreign policy in Muslim-dominated countries generally."

http://www.salon.com/2015/12/11/serial_wading_into_a_right_wing_political_firestorm_by_taking_on_bowe_bergdahl_mystery/

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According to this article the 5 talibani traded for Bergdahl are interned in Quatar.

Walt

“Serial” wades into political firestorm: Sarah Koenig could raise right’s ire by taking on Bowe...

The new season of "Serial" is courting the right's wrath by probing the strange case of soldier Bowe Bergdahl