Send in the Clowns; Rice’s credibility in question
By Alexander Bolton – 06/07/14 06:00 AM EDT
She doubled down on her statement Friday by insisting that Bergdahl deserved praise for volunteering to serve in a dangerous conflict.
“Let’s remember this is a young man who volunteered to serve his country. He was taken as a prisoner of war,” she said in a CNN interview.
National Security Adviser Susan Rice’s comments that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction” has amplified GOP criticism of President Obama’s prisoner swap and undermined Rice’s credibility on Capitol Hill.
Independent experts have cast doubt on Rice’s judgment, given questions about whether Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban after deserting his post in Afghanistan. Even allies of the White House are suggesting she stay off the Sunday talk shows.
“When I saw her on TV making that honor and distinction comment it just seems so phony to me,” said Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor of history and international relations at Boston University. “I think she doesn’t think seriously about the content of the words and it gets her in trouble and it embarrasses the president.
“It’s a problem if you have people who say things that end up attracting such adverse attention,” he added.
Rice is under fire for touting Bergdahl’s military record, after his former platoon mates accused him of deserting his post and endangering the lives of his comrades.
Patrick Ventrell, Rice’s spokesman, said “she stands by what she said in this instance and stands by her service.”
But even Obama’s allies say Rice should lay low for a while to avoid attracting more flak on Capitol Hill and elsewhere in Washington.
“First she’s given incomplete talking points about Benghazi, then she’s dispatched to say on the talk shows that Bergdahl served with ‘honor and distinction.’ If I were Rice, I’d start taking Sundays off,” wrote Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson.
Robinson’s unsolicited advice to Rice meshes with what her fiercest critics on Capitol Hill are saying.
“My recommendation is that from now on Susan Rice stay home with her family and not go on any of the Sunday talk shows,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/208565-questions-loom-over-rices-credibility#ixzz33y2lpW3S
Shame on those who are willing to destroy an American POW to make a political point.
No one can imagine what this man has been through. None of it would have happened if this man had not volunteered to serve. Direct your anger to the appropriate target.
I think you missing the point , Susan Rice has ZERO credibility , she hurt his cause and at the end of the day he was a deserter , perhaps a sympathizer but maybe he was a spy for the USA , but spy speculation is for Monday so stay tuned
The military has not determined that he was a deserter. No more rumors (spy??) let’s wait for the formal inquiry.
You jump all over her for for her kind words. Whould you have felt better if she said negative thi gs about him?
I thank God that an American soldier is being returned to his family. Some people search for the negatives in every situation, that is your burden.
Just how does the great and wonderful OZ know this man is a deserter or anything else when the military has yet to release any info?
its all over the news for since the swap
The military will conduct an investigation. The gossip and rumors should be ignored. This man volunteered to serve his country and none of us know what happened in the last 5 years.
The bigger picture is that Obama negotiated (Poorly) with terrorists.
American service men and women are now targets and bargaining chips.
He’s a deserter and should be sent right back to who ever captured him. Send his father there also!!!
1,3,4 and 6 would vote for Obama again…Morons