Bergdahl to be charged with desertion

[kage69]

I feel for anyone tortured and kept in a box for long periods of time, even if they were slackers and particularly if they already had emotional issues - but the fact of the matter is he 'walked off the job' (bad), then attempted to 'make contact with the enemy' (worse). I've said before that I think a dishonorable is the absolute least he should get and I stand by that. I'd prefer he serve some time in Leavenworth, maybe with credit for time in the box, then write Obama a big fat thank letter, do his time and move on with his life.

 

[werepossum]

I feel for anyone tortured and kept in a box for long periods of time, even if they were slackers and particularly if they already had emotional issues - but the fact of the matter is he 'walked off the job' (bad), then attempted to 'make contact with the enemy' (worse). I've said before that I think a dishonorable is the absolute least he should get and I stand by that. I'd prefer he serve some time in Leavenworth, maybe with credit for time in the box, then write Obama a big fat thank letter, do his time and move on with his life.

Do we absolutely know he was trying to make contact with the enemy? If memory serves - and it may not - the intercept was that he was looking for someone who spoke English, not specifically a Taliban agent who spoke English.

 

[Jhhnn]

See, this is why I maintain that you are a buggy piece of code designed to look for key words and regurgitate the supposedly related proggie talking points. No actual human could be so abysmally bad at reading comprehension without accidentally strangling himself with his computer's power cord.

I'm sure you understood it perfectly, which is why you refuse to actually address it.

All of the hype & speculation about Bergdahl is specifically designed to make the Obama Admin look bad. They already do, apparently having been very under informed as to the circumstances of Bergdahl's capture. A faux pas, for sure.

Minus all the posturing by the pundits of the Right, Bergdahl likely would already been declared AWOL, disciplined & discharged w/ full pay & benefits, obvious consideration for having been held for 5 years. The Army generally isn't in the business of charging former POW's with anything at all.

Should that happen, as I think it should, the raving over supposed political interference will be epic, now that the haters have been whipped into a frenzy. It's basic lynch mob psychology, expertly applied.

Congratulations on that.

 

[Jhhnn]

I feel for anyone tortured and kept in a box for long periods of time, even if they were slackers and particularly if they already had emotional issues - but the fact of the matter is he 'walked off the job' (bad), then attempted to 'make contact with the enemy' (worse). I've said before that I think a dishonorable is the absolute least he should get and I stand by that. I'd prefer he serve some time in Leavenworth, maybe with credit for time in the box, then write Obama a big fat thank letter, do his time and move on with his life.

Heh. The account of how Bergdahl supposedly attempted to make contact with the Taliban is great conspiracy theory stuff, for sure-

Within days of his disappearance, says Buetow, teams monitoring radio chatter and cell phone communications intercepted an alarming message: The American is in Yahya Khel (a village two miles away). He's looking for someone who speaks English so he can talk to the Taliban.

"I heard it straight from the interpreter's lips as he heard it over the radio," said Buetow. "There's a lot more to this story than a soldier walking away."

Just a few glaring holes in that.

http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/03/team-leader-bowe-bergdahl-wanted-to-talk-to-taliban/

Read the rest to see how a conspiracy theorist's mind works.

I wonder if any of that found its way into the guy's reports at the time.

It's not like I really have more than a vague idea as to what transpired. I just see a lynch mob whipped into a frenzy by very skilled propagandists.

Why would you join them?

 

[Angry Irishman]

I'm sure you understood it perfectly, which is why you refuse to actually address it.

All of the hype & speculation about Bergdahl is specifically designed to make the Obama Admin look bad. They already do, apparently having been very under informed as to the circumstances of Bergdahl's capture. A faux pas, for sure.

Minus all the posturing by the pundits of the Right, Bergdahl likely would already been declared AWOL, disciplined & discharged w/ full pay & benefits, obvious consideration for having been held for 5 years. The Army generally isn't in the business of charging former POW's with anything at all.

Should that happen, as I think it should, the raving over supposed political interference will be epic, now that the haters have been whipped into a frenzy. It's basic lynch mob psychology, expertly applied.

Congratulations on that.

And on the flip side of that coin is all the illegal activity to trade him back for the release of five Taliban shitheads, grand standing his father at the rose garden and declaring this deserting soldier as honorable and to have served with distinction was all designed to make the Obama administration look good....political bantering. Too bad it all back fired. I'm guessing his court martial, should he actually stand trial, will be politically altered beyond what is defined as justice. You calling this influence as supposed is ridiculous.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Many of you fell for BenghaziGate and were totally wrong, now you're following the same Obama-fear-mongers on the BergdahlGate case. What case is next, beignetGate? Obama refused to inform congress he used government funds to but a box of beignets?!

 

[Knowing]

The first general order of a sentry for the Army is:

1st General Order
I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.

I don't know about the Army, but in the Navy they beat those in to our heads in bootcamp which is why I know the Army's first general order is a combination of the Navy's first and fifth.

It'll be interesting to see Bergdahl get a trial simply because the executive got egg on his face for the transaction when other citizens get a hellfire and a "thanks but no thanks gg no re."

 

[bshole]

The only people who want to go after Bergdahl are Obama haters who want to score cheap political points. No appreciation for human suffering at all. Leave the poor man alone and give the witch hunt a break. Seriously....

 

[kage69]

Why would you join them?

Wait what? Join whom? I hope you've noticed that unlike many of the frothy Obama haters I'm not one bashing him for getting Bergdahl back, proclaiming Bergdahl guilty of treason, or advocating his execution or being imprisoned for life.

I'll admit that I haven't read much on the guy in the last month or two, and your links appear newer than the ballpark age of the articles I remember perusing so I will def give them a read. You do usually provide good support so I thank you for that. However, Bergdahl left his post. That really isn't in contention and desertion/AWOL offenses are kind of a big deal to me. I'm sorry if that appears to place me in the same camp with partisan reactionaries clambering to find something to criticize Obama about, but I'm only concerning myself with Bergdahl's actions in light of what I've read (subject to change as more information is found).

Let me say that I truly hope my sources were wrong wrt to the Taliban, I'd like to think our enlisted aren't that naive while in theater, even if suffering from mental issues and low morale. Sounds like a good way to get skinned alive or used in a beheading video.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

The only people who want to go after Bergdahl are Obama haters who want to score cheap political points. No appreciation for human suffering at all. Leave the poor man alone and give the witch hunt a break. Seriously....

You don't seem to get it that Obama was trying to score cheap political points by giving him a hero's welcome. It's quite clear that Bergdahl is no hero.

 

[bshole]

You don't seem to get it that Obama was trying to score cheap political points by giving him a hero's welcome. It's quite clear that Bergdahl is no hero.

I would never believe Obama capable of such base motivations. He is not Bush.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

I would never believe Obama capable of such base motivations. He is not Bush.

Of course you would never believe it.

 

[Angry Irishman]

I would never believe Obama capable of such base motivations. He is not Bush.

Then you would be naive. That is clearly what he did and right before the announcement of pulling out of Afghanistan. All you're doing is a Bush vs. Obama comparison which is really irrelevant given the course of events.

 

[Angry Irishman]

Many of you fell for BenghaziGate and were totally wrong, now you're following the same Obama-fear-mongers on the BergdahlGate case. What case is next, beignetGate? Obama refused to inform congress he used government funds to but a box of beignets?!

Sadly, even though it's inconvenient, not everything can be dismissed as a "gate". That seems to be the trend and method to discard events during this administration.

This situation is much more straight forward than the irrelevant Benghazi event that you reference. The guy deserted....now he's going to face the consequences for his dishonorable decisions. That still means something in the military.

 

[Moonbeam]

Sadly, even though it's inconvenient, not everything can be dismissed as a "gate". That seems to be the trend and method to discard events during this administration.

This situation is much more straight forward than the irrelevant Benghazi event that you reference. The guy deserted....now he's going to face the consequences for his dishonorable decisions. That still means something in the military.

You mean the kangaroo court here in P and N won't determine his fate? Geez, if I'd only seen that coming I could have saved myself millions of useless opinions.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Sadly, even though it's inconvenient, not everything can be dismissed as a "gate". That seems to be the trend and method to discard events during this administration.

This situation is much more straight forward than the irrelevant Benghazi event that you reference. The guy deserted....now he's going to face the consequences for his dishonorable decisions. That still means something in the military.

 

[Angry Irishman]

I'm not really viewing this through a political lense but rather that of someone who is retired military and understand the severity of deserting.

My political views don't care for the current POTUS and I don't agree with Obama's actions to return Bergdahl (nor would I for any standing president) but that really doesn't matter now. I am interested in seeing him stand trial in a military court as he did indeed desert his post. Hopefully his trial won't be influenced by politics....politics and timing being the reason he was traded for to begin with.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

I'm getting out of the military right now as we speak from a medboard. The impression I've got from senior leaders is that many of the "facts" and "sources" were politically influenced and the concrete evidence of what's out there is a 180 from what's being said in the media.

Think about it, what's cheaper than running thousands of ads against a political party? Paying off people who were remotely around a relevant, current event to spark outrage over something many people will believe. It is literally that simple. I'll believe otherwise when I see a military court try him for something. If they have something on you, a conviction is so much easier than it is for civilians. The fact it's taken this long should be telling enough.

 

[Moonbeam]

I'm not really viewing this through a political lense but rather that of someone who is retired military and understand the severity of deserting.

My political views don't care for the current POTUS and I don't agree with Obama's actions to return Bergdahl (nor would I for any standing president) but that really doesn't matter now. I am interested in seeing him stand trial in a military court as he did indeed desert his post. Hopefully his trial won't be influenced by politics....politics and timing being the reason he was traded for to begin with.

Here we go again. You don't know he deserted. You believe he deserted.

 

[Moonbeam]

I'm getting out of the military right now as we speak from a medboard. The impression I've got from senior leaders is that many of the "facts" and "sources" were politically influenced and the concrete evidence of what's out there is a 180 from what's being said in the media.

Think about it, what's cheaper than running thousands of ads against a political party? Paying off people who were remotely around a relevant, current event to spark outrage over something many people will believe. It is literally that simple. I'll believe otherwise when I see a military court try him for something. If they have something on you, a conviction is so much easier than it is for civilians. The fact it's taken this long should be telling enough.

You don't know what it's telling. You believe you do.

 

[Angry Irishman]

Here we go again. You don't know he deserted. You believe he deserted.

Well if I explore that line of thinking.....if he didn't desert was he captured? That's a stretch given the information that is known.

 

[Angry Irishman]

I'm getting out of the military right now as we speak from a medboard. The impression I've got from senior leaders is that many of the "facts" and "sources" were politically influenced and the concrete evidence of what's out there is a 180 from what's being said in the media.

Think about it, what's cheaper than running thousands of ads against a political party? Paying off people who were remotely around a relevant, current event to spark outrage over something many people will believe. It is literally that simple. I'll believe otherwise when I see a military court try him for something. If they have something on you, a conviction is so much easier than it is for civilians. The fact it's taken this long should be telling enough.

We'll see what comes of the case. Thanks for your service.

 

[Moonbeam]

Well if I explore that line of thinking.....if he didn't desert was he captured? That's a stretch given the information that is known.

The information you call known is the information you think you know. I don't know what you know. I don't know if what you think you know is true. I don't know what you don't know you don't know. For these reasons I don't jump to opinions. I have no motivation to defend or condemn this person. I have no reason to pretend I know what I don't because I have feelings about what some have said about him. That's it.

 

[werepossum]

I'm getting out of the military right now as we speak from a medboard. The impression I've got from senior leaders is that many of the "facts" and "sources" were politically influenced and the concrete evidence of what's out there is a 180 from what's being said in the media.

Think about it, what's cheaper than running thousands of ads against a political party? Paying off people who were remotely around a relevant, current event to spark outrage over something many people will believe. It is literally that simple. I'll believe otherwise when I see a military court try him for something. If they have something on you, a conviction is so much easier than it is for civilians. The fact it's taken this long should be telling enough.

lol Oddly enough, I predict Eskimospy will not show up to accuse you of believing in conspiracies just because you believe that whole military units are being paid to lie for the GOP.

Here we go again. You don't know he deserted. You believe he deserted.

He knows he deserted. You know he deserted. We all know he deserted. While there are certainly things we don't know, that is not one of them. Please adjust your delusion before you start suggesting that Dick Cheney and John Boehner snuck into Afghanistan (probably through Madeupistan) to kidnap Bergdahl and deliver him to the Taliban as a political trap for the noble 'Bama.

 

[werepossum]

We'll see what comes of the case. Thanks for your service.

Thank you for your service. And for staying sane.