Bergdahl charged with desertion

[anvil]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/25/politics/bowe-bergdahl-charges-decision/

Washington (CNN)— House Speaker John Boehner
said Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is "innocent until
proven guilty" after the U.S. military charged him with
desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, but
emphasized in an exclusive interview with CNN's
Dana Bash that he was more concerned about the
circumstances of his release.
Bergdahl's attorney also released a statement on
Wednesday, outlining his defense of the soldier and
containing a two-page letter from Bergdahl
describing the torture he endured, which included
months spent chained to a bed and further years
spent chained on all fours or locked in a cage.
Shortly after the charges were announced, Bergdahl's
attorneys released a lengthy statement that includes
a letter sent to Milley earlier this month outlining their
defense of the soldier.
"In light of the nearly five years of harsh captivity Sgt.
Bergdahl endured, the purpose of his leaving his unit,
and his behavior while a prisoner, it would be unduly
harsh to impose on him the lifetime stigma of a
court-martial conviction or an other than honorable
discharge and to deny him veterans benefits,"
attorney Eugene R. Fidell writes in the letter.
The statement includes a two-page accounting from
Bergdahl of his time in captivity, in which he recounts
months spent chained to a bed, then further years
spent chained on all fours or locked in a cage.
Bergdahl said for years his body and health declined
due to malnourishment, and sores on his wrists and
ankles from the shackles grew infected.
"My body started a steady decline in constant internal
sickness that would last through the final year," he
said.
Bergdahl was frequently beaten, at times with copper
wire or a thick rubber hose, and forced to watch
Taliban videos, he said. He had no concept of time,
and was repeatedly told he would be killed and would
never again see his family.
"I was kept in constant isolation during the entire five
years, with little to no understanding of time, through
periods of constant darkness, periods of constant
light, and periods of completely random flickering of
light and absolutely no understanding of anything
that was happening beyond the door I was held
behind," he wrote.
Bergdahl tried a dozen times to escape, he wrote.
In his interview with Bash, Boehner said "like any
American, you're innocent until proven guilty."
"And these charges are coming. There will be a trial,"
Boehner said in an interview taped Wednesday to air
Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
Boehner said the "more troubling part" of Bergdahl
saga is the fact that the U.S. government traded five
Taliban fighters for Bergdahl's release, and that
recent reports indicate one has returned to the
battlefield. He expressed concerns about other
detainees held at the U.S. military prison at
Guantanamo Bay, which President Barack Obama is
working to close, "ending up back on the battlefield
and threatening Americans here and abroad."
Obama "violated the law" in failing to alert Congress
before the prisoner swap occurred, Boehner added.
"And I still believe that's the more troubling part of
this," he said. "We've made clear in the past that we
won't negotiate with terrorists, and but yet here we
did."
Military officials announced Wednesday afternoon
they would charge Bergdahl with one count each of
desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
Bergdahl left his post in Afghanistan before being
captured and held captive for five years. For that, he
faces charges that carry a maximum penalty of life in
a military prison, and he could also have to forfeit pay
and be stripped of his rank, Army Col. Daniel King
said as he announced the charges.
Bergdahl faces a military procedure similar to a grand
jury that will whether charges are appropriate, King
said. Then, he could face court martial proceedings.
The decision comes nearly a year after Bergdahl
returned to the United States as part of a prisoner
exchange and since the Army began a formal
investigation into his disappearance from his unit in
eastern Afghanistan in June 2009.
The Army concluded its investigation into the
circumstances of Bergdahl's capture in December.
Until now, it has been in the hands of Gen. Mark
Milley, head of U.S. Army Forces Command, who
made the decision to charge Bergdahl. Several U.S.
military officials CNN has spoken with suggested
privately that the process took longer than expected.
READ: Bowe Bergdahl Fast Facts
Ahead of Wednesday's announcement, officials said
Milley only had a few choices. Though the sense had
been that Bergdahl must be held accountable for his
actions, there had been little appetite for a lengthy
term in military confinement given the five years
Bergdahl was held by the Taliban.

I'm curious to see if this gets as much airtime as any of the racial violence these past years. I have no doubt that Obama won't stand tall and take responsibility for this, even with all the fanfare he created. sheesh, certainly one deserter is worth 5 top Taliban terrorists who gave their " word" not to get back involved.

assuming his squadmates and literally a statement of fact are true and he is guilty.

his attorney is top notch in his reason above. (paraphrase) gee he's suffered enough!

there was at least one life lost attempting to find him.

he should be held accountable for this as well.

I'm sure Obama will pardon him if found guilty.

I was under the impression that the penalty for desertion during time of war was death.

[Katiebee]

Got news. We were not at war.

[watcher1]

Got news. We were not at war.

Shows you how slick our politicians are.  They do not declare war. They just invade, with or without Congress' approval.  Bergdahl left his position and left his unit during a time of combat, whether they were in combat at the time does not matter. He abandoned his fellow soldiers.  Looks like desertion to me.  Hope he has to pay back all the money the military gave him when he was supposedly held captive.

[anvil]

yup, just because you die in a foreign country, killing bad guys who are trying to kill US citizens, its not war.

guess that lesson from "Nam" just never stuck.


if it walks like a duck, bla, bla, bla

I did note,, if guilty.

[Katiebee]

Did you all know that when Eisenhower was elected president, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs informed him that the Soviets were holding several hundredbUS service men from POW camps that they had liberated?

He decided that the Natuon would not tolerate or support a war to recover those men, and in the process lose thousands more.

I believe one of the last died in the Gulag in 1956.

[anvil]

I did not know that.

was Obama president then? I'm sure it must be his fault somehow.

the concept of " leave no one behind" is very noble, the stuff military cleavages are made of.

however I personally do not believe it applies in this case. it means/ implies and the heroic examples support this to be an act of valor and heroism during a combat encounter.

it certainly is not meant to sugarcoat our president taking it upon himself, with no congress involvement to negotiate with terrorists. especially if there is even the slightest doubt as to his being a deserter.

[Katiebee]

My father's take on it is to bring them all home. We take care of our own, the good, the bad, the indifferent.

[phtlc]

I did not know that.

was Obama president then? I'm sure it must be his fault somehow.

I was thinking the same thing 

the concept of " leave no one behind" is very noble, the stuff military cleavages are made of.

however I personally do not believe it applies in this case. it means/ implies and the heroic examples support this to be an act of valor and heroism during a combat encounter.

it certainly is not meant to sugarcoat our president taking it upon himself, with no congress involvement to negotiate with terrorists. especially if there is even the slightest doubt as to his being a deserter.

Until a trial determines that he did in fact desert, any member of the military in enemy hands should be given the benefit of the doubt and be treated as a captive who's return is a priority.

[anvil]

not meaning tit for tat, but to show the age old idea that given a group of opinions, there may be a consensus, but probably not. katiebee, my dad too was a career officer in the air force. he did the big 3__ WWII, Korea, and 2 tours of duty(2 years each) in Nam. He flew C-130's and was involved in all those touch and goes under fire dropping supplies to ground forces.

My Uncle too served in WWII and survived the Bataan death march and ate rice the rest of the war.

Both would have believed this swap was inappropriate for the following reasons.

pow swaps have been standard fair throughout history. However,whether you ( generic you) accept it or not, there is a hierchy of value placed on trading human pow's. a general is worth way more than a private.

one Sargent for 5 upper echelon more or less generals is a poor trade.

add to that they are terrorists who (understatement) don't follow the Geneva convention and thus their "promise" to stay out of the war has no meaning.

also considering the man himself, there was much in the news(hearsay) that at the very least, that he deserted his post while on duty. not to mention the letter of intent he possibly left behind. it was strong enough info that his hometown canceled his homecoming.

I believe that an act like this undermines the military and does great damage to the morale of our troops in this conflict.

I also believe that the lopsidedness of this trade shows us to be weak in the eyes of the enemy. this potentially increases both their confidence that they can do as they please and increases their ability to recruit.

not to mention 5 upper echelon personnel back on the job.

I'm sure there are other US, and other Nation's pow's. there is a fair chance that they have undergone what this man supposedly went thru and more.

where are they?

[watcher1]

My father's take on it is to bring them all home. We take care of our own, the good, the bad, the indifferent.

Again, I agree with your father. But those who had gone bad should be made to suffer the consequences of their actions.

[phtlc]

My father's take on it is to bring them all home. We take care of our own, the good, the bad, the indifferent.

Again, I agree with your father. But those who had gone bad should be made to suffer the consequences of their actions.

Agreed, but under our system and only after being found guilty in a proper trial. Until we got him back, we had every obligation to treat him as any other American POW regardless of what allegations are out there.

[anvil]

I'll stand by my statement.

[anvil]

to add to this, considering our Pres wears the two hats of politician and military commander,I cannot imagine a military commander making a decision returning 5 top enemy leaders to an active roll against his troops for one Sargent since this returns a huge loss to them

thus it must be a political decision. I wonder what he gained politically?

[Katiebee]

The Army wanted him back.

[anvil]

what we know from the media, the pres wanted him back, and played the news card to his favor.

[Katiebee]

Don't be fooled by the politics. It's important for Army morale that no one is left behind.

[Katiebee]

Indeed. The Republicans are soft on the military, and not in a good way. They only see the military in terms like glory, patriotism, rah rah rah.

They don't want to see the veteran, assist in his healing or problems. Too many are like Cheney and see soldiers as commodities.

[watcher1]

Don't be fooled by the politics. It's important for Army morale that no one is left behind.

You think?  Ask members of his unit that he deserted from if they want him back?  They would probably say yes, but not for morale reasons but so they could get their hands around his neck, I am guessing.

[Katiebee]

Watcher, what happens after being returned depends upon the circumstances of his departure from US military control. The principle stills remains that we leave no one behind.

[anvil]

Toe, you miss my point

his guilt or innocence is not the issue.

this trade puts US military and civilians around the world at major risk.

the disparity in the trade is ludicrous ,,, a penny for a million bucks.

If you don't think the Taliban will put them to use and. whatever atrocity they are apart of will be made public then have a bit of patience. I guarantee you it will be on the news.

if this was a military call he fucked up.

if a political one, then he did it for who knows why.

What Watcher said.  yup, you got it.