<staff edit> there is no legitimate comparison to be made between the experiences of Bergdahl and John McCain. My guess is you saw the CNN interview conducted by Candy Crowley during which she attempted to make the same disingenuous comparison and are just parroting that here. But both instances comprise an incredibly weak straw man argument made in an attempt to provide cover for Obama and a complete lack of understanding and appreciation for those who served with honor in the US Military as opposed to those who didn't.
I didn't say anything about McCain's capture, etc..
So? You are attempting to draw a comparison between someone who deserted his post in dereliction of duty and someone who was actually taken prisoner by the enemy while performing his duty. But typically such people are the only military service members many on the left ever express any admiration for, those who betray their duty or their comrades in arms, or sympathize with the enemy while denouncing their service and country. Thus why John Kerry could rise to prominence after throwing someone else's medals over the White House fence.
I was referring to when he did indeed break (unlike your assertion), and he started breaking just days (two days IIRC) after his capture (by his own admission in his memoir) and provided them his ship's name, squadron's name, and attack's intended target...
McCain broke while ejecting from his aircraft:
"I pulled the ejection handle, and was knocked unconscious by the force of the ejection—the air speed was about 500 knots. I didn't realize it at the moment, but I had broken my right leg around the knee, my right arm in three places, and my left arm."
"When they had most of my clothes off, I felt a twinge in my right knee. I sat up and looked at it, and my right foot was resting next to my left knee, just in a 90-degree position. I said, "My God--my leg!" That seemed to enrage them —I don't know why. One of them slammed a rifle butt down on my shoulder, and smashed it pretty badly. Another stuck a bayonet in my foot.
According to McCain's account he was in and out of consciousness for three to four days subsequent to being taken prisoner. He was only taken to the hospital when the North Vietnamese discovered his father was an admiral. He stated his hospital treatment almost killed him.
Your assertion he broke within two days is based on what? Something you read on Mother Jones?
Source for quotes:
John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account - US News
Bergdhal voluntarily walked away from his post looking to join the Taliban. McCain voluntarily strapped into his aircraft to conduct combat operations against the enemy and was shot down. To compare these to is an insult not only to McCain but to all who served honorably.
McCain also refused early release from captivity, insisting those who had been taken prisoner prior to him be released first. Quote:
I went back to him three nights later. He asked again, "Do you want to go home?" I told him "No." He wanted to know why, and I told him the reason. I said that Alvarez [first American captured] should go first, then enlisted men and that kind of stuff.
We went through this routine and still I told him "No." Three nights later we went through it all over again. On the morning of the Fourth of July, 1968, which happened to be the same day that my father took over as commander in chief of U. S. Forces in the Pacific, I was led into another quiz room.
"The Rabbit" and "The Cat" were sitting there. I walked in and sat down, and "The Rabbit" said, "Our senior wants to know your final answer."
"My final answer is the same. It's 'No.' "
Even Obama acknowledged McCain's service as honorable, quote:
"John McCain has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect..."
But your attempt to denigrate McCain's service by comparing him to Bergdahl isn't new, members of the left have been doing that for years. Quote:
Political scientist John Mueller, a military affairs expert at Ohio State University, is more blunt. "Exactly how much he learned about national policy while sitting in a prison in Hanoi is terribly limited," he says of McCain. Furthermore, he says, the "grueling experience … might lead to questions about how healthy he is. The Hanoi Hilton logically could be expected to decrease your life expectancy."
Source:
Military past on center stage in McCain run | wtsp.com
...later on he also gave a propaganda statement, "I am a black criminal and I have performed the deeds of an air pirate. I almost died, and the Vietnamese people saved my life, thanks to the doctors.".
You post this with absolutely no context. How do you think you would have held up to years of imprisonment at the hands of brutal keepers such as the North Vietnamese were? <staff edit> Quote:
When I said that, the guards, who were all in the room—about 10 of them—really laid into me. They bounced me from pillar to post, kicking and laughing and scratching. After a few hours of that, ropes were put on me and I sat that night bound with ropes. Then I was taken to a small room. For punishment they would almost always take you to another room where you didn't have a mosquito net or a bed or any clothes. For the next four days, I was beaten every two to three hours by different guards. My left arm was broken again and my ribs were cracked.
They wanted a statement saying that I was sorry for the crimes that I had committed against North Vietnamese people and that I was grateful for the treatment that I had received from them. This was the paradox—so many guys were so mistreated to get them to say they were grateful. But this is the Communist way.
I held out for four days. Finally, I reached the lowest point of my 5½ years in North Vietnam. I was at the point of suicide, because I saw that I was reaching the end of my rope.
Source:
John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account - US News
It has been reported Bergdahl was kept in a cage for a few days, a story the left is pouncing on to cry about how mistreated he was and to attempt to bolster the original claim made by Obama that Bergdahl was a hero. But Bergdahl did not suffer as McCain did, nor did McCain play soccer with his captors or engage in live fire exercises with them using their weapons. McCain signed a statement under severs duress.
<staff edit> McCain ran for President as a Republican against Obama and had the audacity to chose a woman for his running mate. Therefore he is bad, and his service, to include five and a half years in captivity at the hands of Communist, is only worthy of an asinine comparison meant to provide cover for a truly depraved decision made by Obama.
So please, don't try to insult my intelligence with your false assertions.
<Staff edit>
