Bergdahl Release Sparks Controversy
Bowe Bergdahl, shown here being held captive by the Taliban.
Not surprisingly, many senators are furious over the recent prisoner swap, after they gave up five Taliban leaders in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held captive by the Taliban for five years. Lindsey Graham (R) of South Carolina went as far as to threaten impeachment of Obama if he used this as an opening to shutter Guantanamo. Late yesterday, officials from the State Department, Pentagon and intelligence agencies briefed lawmakers so that they could ease the criticism of the deal. However, the briefing seemed to do little to quell concerns that the five Taliban leaders would go on to attack Americans.
While the majority of concerned senators were Republican, some of them included Democrats; Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia said that he left the briefing with more questions than answers. Lawmakers from both parties have accused the Obama administration of breaking the law by not giving them a 30 days’ notice of the impending release of the five Taliban leaders, which has alienated a lot of Republcians. In addition, many military men claim Bergdahl deserted before his 2009 capture, sparking even further controversy. Congressmen are almost positive that the recently-released Taliban members will return to the battlefield to fight Americans, a concern that has plagued lawmakers since the idea of a prisoner swap first arose two years earlier. During the briefing, the congressmen said that officials showed them a short Taliban video that proved Bergdahl was alive, and that the footage indicated his deteriorating health. While most people agree that Bergdahl didn’t look too good in the video, they also felt that Obama handled the situation poorly.
Senator Graham hinted that the administration threw around a theory that this prisoner exchange would help in further peace talks with the Taliban, but he has misgivings about the logic behind this, which has made him even more concerned than he was before the swap.
Humanitarian Emergency in Iraq
ISIS militants, shown here, are proving to be a major problem in Iraq.
As the situation in Iraq has escalated, the UN announced yesterday that the situation is a “Level 3 Emergency”, which will trigger additional goods, funds and assets to respond to the needs of the displaced. Earlier today, clashes between Iraqi troops and ISIS west of Baghdad resulted in the death of at least four children. The UN Security Council also said that it was backing a newly-nominated premier-designate in hopes that they can swiftly form an “inclusive government” to neutralize the insurgent threat, the worst crisis in Iraq since US troops withdrew back in 2011.
Since they swept into Iraq in early June, ISIS has driven hundreds of thousands away from their homes, and have been clashing with Kurds in the north. They have targeted the region’s religious and ethnic minorities, such as the Christians and Yezidis, who have fled their advance to take refuge in the remote desert Sinjar mountain range. The American and Iraqi military have dropped food and water supplies, and in recent days Kurds have battled to open a corridor to the mountain, which has allowed some 45,000 to escape. However, roughly 4,500 people remain on top of the mountain, nearly half of whom are herders who lived in the area before the invasion and don’t plan on evacuating.
The UN said that they would be providing additional support to Iraqi refugees, including 400,000 who have fled since June into Kurdish territory. A total of 1.5 million people have been displaced by fighting since ISIS captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and swept through other parts of the country. Fighting erupted earlier today in the ISIS-held city of Fallujah, just 40 miles to the west of Baghdad. At least four children have already been killed in the battle, as well as one woman and 10 militants. In recent days, the US has been carrying out airstrikes against ISIS fighters, helping to fend back their advance on Kurdish regions. Iraq’s central government in Baghdad, meanwhile, has been plagued by political turmoil after the President nominated a Shiite politician to form the next government. The Prime Minister, Nori al-Maliki, said that he refuses to relinquish power until a federal court rules on what he called a “constitutional violation” by the President.
About Nelson Lewis
An exposure to politics at a young age had a profound effect on media maven Nelson Lewis, who worked as a volunteer for numerous Republican politicians in and around his native Savannah. Nelson worked as a reporter and eventually anchor at two Savannah television stations growing up, WJCL ABC-22 and WTGS FOX-28, also recording voice teasers for airing on Fridays on WJCL-FM KIX 96 and previewing his upcoming stories, which aired on the Sunday evening news.
One of Nelson’s favorite experiences at WJCL was reporting live from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade (America’s second largest) from 1998-2000. Continuing in the spirit of his grandfather’s pioneering and trailblazing footsteps (he was the first to bring all-color television and stereo to the Savannah market), Nelson became the first person in Savannah market to bring a kid’s perspective to local news as its first youth reporter. In fact, one of the competing stations, WSAV NBC-3 hired their own youth reporter, Sean Champion, 18 months after Nelson began his reports and WJCL/TGS’s ratings dramatically increased.
Work In Political Media
While a sophomore and junior at Lynn University, Nelson Lewis hosted “Politijam”, a lively political debate show that became well known across the university campus and served as the media editor of the univeristy’s weekly EPulse newspaper. While at Lynn, Nelson was selected to represent the entire undergraduate student population as a member of Lynn University’s Academic Task Force, charged with the duty of streamlining the core curriculum of the universities.
While attending Lynn’s College of International Communication, Nelson developed a friendship with Irving R. Levine, a well-known and nationally recognized correspondent for NBC News who became the network’s first full time economics correspondent, and was the creator of the precursor to CNBC. After a 45-year career in journalism, Levine went on to become Dean of Lynn’s communication program. After finishing college, Nelson Lewis followed Levine’s suggestion and moved to Washington, DC where his first job was as a press intern for a Republican congressman, which then led to a job booking at the Fox News Channel from 2006-2010. Here, he was able to put his love of politics and interest in the Republican Party to good use.
Upon the suggestion of Mr. Levine, Nelson Lewis enrolled in the Masters of Professional Studies in Journalism (International Politics) program at Georgetown University in 2009, where a special emphasis was placed on the dissolution of America’s Fairness Doctrine and on the major player in its demise, Bruce Fein.
Nelson was honored to be invited to speak at a roast honoring Levine’s 2009 death at the National Press Club, where he spoke alongside Levine family members and contemporaries such as former Meet the Press Moderator Marvin Kalb. He subsequently wrote a letter to the editor published in The Hill newspaper eulogizing Levine as a “top-notch raconteur” who many others have tried to emulate.
From his work at Fox News, Nelson Lewis was able to take a firsthand role in the DC journalism scene, and was blessed with the opportunity of meeting entertainment, political, and academic luminaries on a daily basis, including numerous sitting and former representatives, senators, governors and cabinet secretaries. These unique experiences gave Nelson a front row seat to many historic events and gave him a firsthand experience of how the Washington system works, from how laws are created to how news is made.
Through Nelson Lewis’ work creating Her Golf Network, coupled with his extensive booking experiences in segment producing gained at America’s highest rated cable news channel and through his time performing key internships at places such as WPBT’s Nightly Business Report in Miami, where he honed his scriptwriting skills, and at WTOC in Savannah, where he provided copyediting and on-site production assistance at the 2004 Sea Island G-8 summit, have provided him with a solid foundation and understanding of the news business. His time as a reporter/anchor growing up prior to his undergraduate studies helped him get an early start at doing what he loves most, reporting.
