An Army Vet Blew Whistle on Bergdahl Swap; Then Came the Unexpected Retaliation
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By Frank Camp
ijreview.com
During Lt. Col. Jason Amerine’s testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Thursday, he claimed the Army has unfairly targeted him for speaking out about his involvement in the Bowe Bergdahl negotiation:
“The army suspended my clearance, removed me from my job, and sought to court-martial me.”
According to Amerine, prior to the Bergdahl swap, he and his office at the Pentagon were working to secure the release of multiple hostages: Colin Rutherford, Warren Weinstein, Josh Boyle, Caitlin Coleman (who was pregnant at the time of her capture), and Bowe Bergdahl.
The Washington Examiner reports:
“Amerine testified Thursday that he and other members of his Pentagon office lured a Taliban warlord to the [United States]…The office was hoping to leverage the warlord’s release for those six Americans and Canadians…”
Progress was being made, when he was inexplicably shut down. The State Department allegedly told him that the exchange was to be a 5-for-1, in which only Bergdahl would be released.
Amerine claims that after an audit, he discovered why the Bergdahl swap took so long: agencies were lacking the proper connections to efficiently facilitate hostage negotiations.
Frustrated about the inefficiency, and his scrapped initiative to secure the release of all six hostages, Amerine spoke to Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA).
According to Western Journalism:
“Hunter subsequently filed a complaint with the Pentagon’s Inspector General. His grievance stated that there was allegedly a questionable ransom that might have been paid for Bergdahl.”
The complaint led to a belief on the part of the FBI that Amerine had shared confidential information with Hunter. Amerine denies that the information was confidential, and asserts the DoD agrees with him.
That’s when Amerine was thrown a curveball. The Army allegedly retaliated, even looking to court-martial him.
However, The Washington Post reports that the the Army Criminal Investigation Command won’t even admit to an investigation, let alone that it’s because of Amerine’s whistleblowing.
During his testimony, Amerine maintained his innocence, and asserted his right under the Military Whistleblower Protection Act to speak with members of Congress. |
