Swap or No Swap?

I recently reported on the plight of former US Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi, who has been languishing in a Mexican jail while authorities hold him on assorted weapons charges for the 3 guns he was carrying in his vehicle.

The backlash against the release of 5 Taliban terrorists from Gitmo in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has dramatically increased dissatisfaction with how President Obama is performing.

Combining elements of these new items together, one Texas gun store owner proposes a prisoner swap that should be much more satisfying (see Featured Image):

Meanwhile, William A. Thien, the Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, has written directly to Obama in an effort to free Tahmooressi:

I write as the national commander of the 1.9 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and its Auxiliaries to urge your immediate action to secure the release of Andrew Tahmooressi from a Mexican jail.The charges against Tahmooressi, a Marine Corps sergeant in the Individual Ready Reserve, appear to be a desperate attempt by a failing nation-state to project strength against the United States. What’s urgently needed is for Mexico to release him before irreparable damage is done to the goodwill between our two countries that today is at best tenuous.A personal phone call from you to Mexican President Nieto can make this happen.

And while the platoon members who served with Bergdahl are smeared for daring to suggest he may have deserted, fellow Marines have an entirely different view of Tahmooressi and his dire situation.

A U.S. Marine who served with Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, who has spent over two months in a Mexican prison on gun charges, told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren Tuesday that his friend’s transformation while in prison is “heartbreaking.”…Cpl. Brad Meister said on “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” that is a clear to him that Tahmooressi, who he said was his workout partner, has lost a significant amount of weight behind bars.“This is a guy that is completely humble, generous, that would do anything for anybody and to hear his voice is just kind of – just a brokenness that is hard, very hard for me…” he said, later adding, “I don’t see how you can just lose so much weight and being treated the way he is and for us, in America, to allow this to go on is really heartbreaking.”Meister said that one example of Tahmooressi’s selflessness occurred when they were serving together. He said a fellow soldier was injured, and they were running low on tourniquets. Just as they were beginning to lose the soldier, Tahmooressi grabbed the tourniquet from his own supplies and used it to save the soldier’s life.

An Arizona congressman has a more hopeful report:

Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon says a Marine veteran who has been in a Mexico prison on weapons charges is doing well.Salmon says he was able to visit Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi on Saturday at el Hongo II prison in Tijuana and the 25-year-old seemed in good spirits.

Prayers are going out for Tahmooressi’s return home. And, as Alcede’s sign says: God help us all.

(Featured image, from Twitter).

Tags: Bowe Bergdahl, Mexico, Taliban

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