Bergdahl Prisoner Swap

[Gaspar]

I guess I shouldn't be so harsh on my judgement of releasing the five Talibani since they are a largely impotent group of fun-loving, peaceful guys these days:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistan-militants-launch-new-attack-on-karachi-airport-taliban-claims-responsibility/2014/06/10/c84d8fda-f08b-11e3-9ebc-2ee6f81ed217_story.html

Yes.  They are simply misunderstood and need a hug.  Just try and keep the cutlery away from Fazi.  He gets carried away around infidels sometimes.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Taliban probation tracking device.

[Conan71]

So are the ISIS fighters, other than being former al Qaeda, in anyway connected to the Taliban?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/insurgents-seize-iraqi-city-of-mosul-as-troops-flee/2014/06/10/21061e87-8fcd-4ed3-bc94-0e309af0a674_story.html

http://situationroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/23/brutal-terrorist-group-showcases-their-violence-in-glossy-new-video/

There are no Al-Qaeda in Iraq.  Never was, remember? 

[dbacksfan 2.0]

There are no Al-Qaeda in Iraq.  Never was, remember? 

I forgot!

[guido911]

Just when the Bergdahl thing could not get weirder, it does.

Before he became a Taliban prisoner, before he wrote in his journal "I am the lone wolf of deadly nothingness," before he joined the Army, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was discharged from the Coast Guard for psychological reasons, said close friends who were worried about his emotional health at the time.

The 2006 discharge and a trove of Bergdahl's writing — his handwritten journal along with essays, stories and e-mails provided to The Washington Post — paint a portrait of a deeply complicated and fragile young man who was by his own account struggling to maintain his mental stability from the start of basic training until the moment he walked off his post in eastern Afghanistan in 2009.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/bergdahls-writings-reveal-a-fragile-young-man/2014/06/11/fb9349fe-f165-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html?hpid=z1

[guido911]

Well, the GAO has weighed in. They do this sometimes.

This responds to your June 13, 2014, request for our opinion on whether the
Department of Defense (DOD) incurred obligations in violation of section 8111 of the
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2014 when it transferred five individuals
detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the nation of Qatar. Section 8111 prohibits
DOD from using appropriated funds to transfer any individuals detained at
Guantanamo Bay unless the Secretary of Defense notifies certain congressional
committees at least 30 days before the transfer. Pub. L. No. 113-76, div. C, title VIII,
§ 8111, 128 Stat. 5, 131 (Jan. 17, 2014).

As explained below, we conclude that DOD violated section 8111 because it did not
notify the relevant congressional committees at least 30 days in advance of the
transfer. In addition, because DOD used appropriated funds to carry out the transfer
when no money was available for that purpose, DOD violated the Antideficiency Act.
The Antideficiency Act prohibits federal agencies from incurring obligations
exceeding an amount available in an appropriation. 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a).

http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/665390.pdf

[Conan71]

Well, the GAO has weighed in. They do this sometimes.

http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/665390.pdf

What's the over/under on how many hours it takes for prominent Dims to explain how the GAO is almost always wrong when it doesn't suit their agenda? 

[guido911]

What's the over/under on how many hours it takes for prominent Dims to explain how the GAO is almost always wrong when it doesn't suit their agenda?  

I'm going with the "GAO is racist".

[Conan71]

I'm going with the "GAO is racist".

Absolutely!

[Gaspar]

I'm going with the "GAO is racist".

I thought they already established that?