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John Oliver Explains Net Neutrality Like You've Never Seen It Explained Before

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Killgore Trout6/04/2014 8:38:27 am PDT

re: #207 Targetpractice

The only narrative I see being advanced so far is one by Republican strategists that this soldier is a deserter, possibly a collaborator, and his life was not worth the release of five Gitmo detainees. The unspoken belief that it would have been better that he was just left to rot in Taliban custody unless they released him, no string attached.

Yes, it’s entirely possible that a lot of Republicans are going to have egg on their faces. They’d be better off acknowledging the reality that he needed to be retrieved and either offer a reasonable alternative or acknowledge the unpleasant prisoner swap was a necessity.
At the same time I would have advised the White House (unless they know something we don’t) to temper their talking to points to something like “We looked at all the options and this is the best we could do. ” I think Susan Rice’s statement that Berdahl served with honor and distinction don’t wuite match the evidence we have. It seem likely that he at least made some careless mistakes and possibly willfully put others at risk. Just a little distance is all that’s needed, some vague statements about ‘we’ll learn more soon” .