It has been accepted as a given that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl wanted to come home but upon reflection there is no reason to jump to that conclusion. What is known is that he has been kept under wraps since his release and held incommunicado. Usually by this time one would expect to hear at least some gushy story as to how he likes his eggs or his need to catch up on his favorite sports team or how cleverly he thinks the president makes his NCAA bracket choices but no. There has been nothing but silence. He is in fairly good health and does not wish to speak to his parents. End of story.
There is the possibility that Bergdahl was perfectly content to roam about the Afghan countryside with his buds, plinking with his AK-47 and planning his promised tryst with 72 virgins. Without diving headlong into a sticky concoction of Stockholm syndromes, oedipus complexes, psychological repressions, suppressions and regressions could we just posit the theory that he is a chip off the old block? Are there any members of his family that you can think of who speak Pashto and offer up Islamic incantations in the White House Rose Garden? Does the adjective squirrely fit one or more members of the Bergdahl family? As in straight from the top of the tree?
What little bit is that known about the Bergdahl's suggests that they are unconventional, to say the least. They left California for remote Idaho to live for years without phone service and many modern convinces. They seem long on the theological aspects of religion but one might guess short on faith. Is their religion more than an intellectual exercise? That is between them and God but they are a pair of odd ducks and I have always been suspicious of those who display so much piety.
If Bowe Bergdahl has had an honest conversion to Islam Obama is in a hell of a mess. Yes, the country knows not all Muslims are extremists but would he have picked up a pacifist brand of Islam from extremist Muslims? Suppose his first news conference concludes with Allahu Akbar? What if he states he wants to go back. What if he tries to go back? To date his career his been short on the honor and long on the distinction. Will he suddenly strike the proper balance? Again, there is no reason to believe he wanted to come home and the longer he is isolated from the public only confirms that in my mind. Would anyone have thought that an Army major who had served with honor and distinction would gun down 45 American soldiers?
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