Bergdahl to be charged with desertion

[Jhhnn]

Badly treated by insurgents in the Middle East.

Badly treated by Obama Administration in the US.

Past time to cut Bergdahl loose...

This old dog soldier would prefer that he not be rewarded for abandoning his unit and that he be given an other than honorable discharge...

Still, if the Obama Administration, and their fan boys, want to consider Bergdahl a heroic figure that's their decision.

Then again, they've already made clear what 'Honor and Distinction' means to them...

Uno

Have you considered that the Obama Admin only knew what the Army told them about Bergdahl? That perhaps they're victims of mis-communication or misinformation?

I don't see him as a hero but rather as a guy with some psych problems who screwed up very badly & has already paid heavily for his mistake.

There's a lot of false attribution & character assassination in the rest of what you offer.

 

[bshole]

Have you considered that the Obama Admin only knew what the Army told them about Bergdahl? That perhaps they're victims of mis-communication or misinformation?

I don't see him as a hero but rather as a guy with some psych problems who screwed up very badly & has already paid heavily for his mistake.

There's a lot of false attribution & character assassination in the rest of what you offer.

Not sure what the Republicans are in uproar over. Obama can't run for another term so there really is nothing for them to gain in pursuing this.

 

[cabri]

Not sure what the Republicans are in uproar over. Obama can't run for another term so there really is nothing for them to gain in pursuing this.

Setting of a precedent. :thumbsdown:

 

[JSt0rm]

Setting of a precedent. :thumbsdown:

Oh al of their true colors came out when they thought we should of left a pow in theater because of reasons.

 

[Jhhnn]

Not sure what the Republicans are in uproar over. Obama can't run for another term so there really is nothing for them to gain in pursuing this.

Because they can't build themselves up other than by tearing Dems down. It's not really about Bergdahl the person at all. If they could convince the Army to shoot the poor bastard it'd serve their purposes better than anything else.

 

[cabri]

No, he should have been brought home.

The way it was handled as a political event was wrong.
He was a voluntary POW/deserter and should have been treated that way from day 1.

 

[Jhhnn]

No, he should have been brought home.

The way it was handled as a political event was wrong.
He was a voluntary POW/deserter and should have been treated that way from day 1.

And we return to innuendo, trying to make it look like he got captured on purpose.

Pretty shameful on your part.

But, of course, no blow is too low if it serves to make Obama look bad.

 

[Cozarkian]

And we return to innuendo, trying to make it look like he got captured on purpose.

Pretty shameful on your part.

But, of course, no blow is too low if it serves to make Obama look bad.

It is not innuendo that he left a military base in a war zone, alone, without permission, in a manner that endangered lives and had an easily recognizable very high risk of being captured. It is not innuendo that such behavior violated his duties as a soldier, and it is not innuendo that this improper conduct ultimately lead to a higher salary.

That is wrong.

 

[Knowing]

Anyone listening to the new story by the Serial podcast?

 

[mysticjbyrd]

Oh al of their true colors came out when they thought we should of left a pow in theater because of reasons.

Who said that?

 

[UglyCasanova]

IMO it's iffy to consider him a POW when he deserted his post, we certainly shouldn't have traded Gitmo detainees for his release. This seems pretty clear cut -even by his own admission on the Serial podcast - but it unfortunately has become politicized.

 

[werepossum]

IMO it's iffy to consider him a POW when he deserted his post, we certainly shouldn't have traded Gitmo detainees for his release. This seems pretty clear cut -even by his own admission on the Serial podcast - but it unfortunately has become politicized.

I think anyone serving in a theater of war deserves the benefit of the doubt, even when that doubt is razor thin. What "everyone knows" has been wrong before.

 

[K1052]

IMO it's iffy to consider him a POW when he deserted his post, we certainly shouldn't have traded Gitmo detainees for his release. This seems pretty clear cut -even by his own admission on the Serial podcast - but it unfortunately has become politicized.

There is inherent value in having a person accused of such be returned even if they have to face the consequences of their actions via a court martial. I don't want to abdicate our own responsibilities to terrorists simply because it's considered expedient at the time (who makes that call and by what rationale anyway?).

 

[trenchfoot]

There is inherent value in having a person accused of such be returned even if they have to face the consequences of their actions via a court martial. I don't want to abdicate our own responsibilities to terrorists simply because it's considered expedient at the time (who makes that call and by what rationale anyway?).

I agree that we should determine the fate of and be responsible for the members of our military and not leave it up to our enemies to decide their fate.

 

[blankslate]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sgt-bowe-bergdahl-harsher-general-court-martial/

Bergdahl's attorney, Eugene Fidell, said the convening authority - a high-ranking officer charged with deciding whether evidence warrants a court-martial - did not follow the advice of a preliminary hearing officer.

Lt. Col. Mark Visger had recommended that Bergdahl's case be referred to a special court martial, which is a misdemeanor-level forum. That limits the maximum punishment to reduction in rank, a bad-conduct discharge and a term of up to a year in prison.

Looks like someone wants to make an example out of him. I think the maximum punishment allowed in a special court marshal is appropriate.

Fidell has argued his client is being charged twice for the same action, saying in a previous television interview that "it's unfortunate that someone got creative in drafting the charge sheet and figured out two ways to charge the same thing."

Separately, Fidell, a military justice expert who is also a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School, complained about political figures who have made derogatory statements about Bergdahl.

Fidell asked that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump "cease his prejudicial months-long campaign of defamation against our client. In October, Trump called Bergdahl a "traitor, a no-good traitor, who should have been executed."

Fidell also asked the House and Senate Armed Services committees to avoid further statements "that prejudice our client's right to a fair trial." The House committee last week issued a 98-page report criticizing the Obama administration's decision to swap the five former Taliban leaders for Bergdahl.

The military is of course under civilian control in the U.S. as it should be but sometimes politicians should just stfu about military matters.



__________________

 

[Jhhnn]

IMO it's iffy to consider him a POW when he deserted his post, we certainly shouldn't have traded Gitmo detainees for his release. This seems pretty clear cut -even by his own admission on the Serial podcast - but it unfortunately has become politicized.

Please. The detainees were functionaries in the Taliban govt, political prisoners rather than Terrarists! of the Al Qaeda sort. That's why they were imprisoned, to deny the Taliban leadership & to serve as hostages. That obviously didn't work. They were useless to us other than the way Obama used them.

Gitmo never was more than a PR stunt to convince the rubes that Dubya & Dickie were tough on terrar. As part of a brilliant propaganda campaign it served for Repubs to cream Dems in the 2002 midterms. It now functions as a lasting monument to gullibility.

 

[Jhhnn]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sgt-bowe-bergdahl-harsher-general-court-martial/



Looks like someone wants to make an example out of him. I think the maximum punishment allowed in a special court marshal is appropriate.



The military is of course under civilian control in the U.S. as it should be but sometimes politicians should just stfu about military matters.



__________________

Indeed. Bergdahl should have been stripped of rank, given a suspended sentence & dishonorably discharged a long time ago.

Repubs are just squeezing out all the emotional bullshit possible, obviously including the un-named "convening authority", whoever that asshole might be.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Indeed. Bergdahl should have been stripped of rank, given a suspended sentence & dishonorably discharged a long time ago.

Repubs are just squeezing out all the emotional bullshit possible, obviously including the un-named "convening authority", whoever that asshole might be.

The convening authority is General Robert Abrams. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_B._Abrams

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Indeed. Bergdahl should have been stripped of rank, given a suspended sentence & dishonorably discharged a long time ago.

I've never heard of anyone receiving an article 15 for desertion or misbehavior before the enemy during wartime conditions. Both of these are court martial offenses and had all the politicians stayed out of this case the court martial would have been completed with Bergdahl more than likely been already serving time in Leavenworth.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I've never heard of anyone receiving an article 15 for desertion or misbehavior before the enemy during wartime conditions. Both of these are court martial offenses and had all the politicians stayed out of this case the court martial would have been completed with Bergdahl more than likely been already serving time in Leavenworth.

The case may yet end with a plea deal where he accepts a GCM (i.e., felony) conviction and DD in lieu of confinement. While I have no problem with his being taken to a GCM, he did spend five years as a Taliban prisoner, so he has already paid quite a price for his stupidity. I'm not sure there is much benefit to putting him in prison in the US.

 

[theeedude]

Case is too politicized for him to get a fair trial, IMO, especially with Republican senators threatening hearings if he isn't convicted.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Case is too politicized for him to get a fair trial, IMO, especially with Republican senators threatening hearings if he isn't convicted.

I actually don't agree. Military juries tend to be smart, independent thinkers who follow orders (or, here, jury instructions). I think he can get a fair trial. Frankly I think he should be convicted, since even according to him, he took off from his FOB into enemy territory of his own volition - the question will be on what charges, and what sentence should be adjudicated.

 

[Moonbeam]

A volunteer army should have provisions that allow one to exit at will. War looks different when one is involved in it for some. Killing people for most is something unnatural that the military training tries to overwrite and it doesn't always work.

 

[bshole]

A volunteer army should have provisions that allow one to exit at will. War looks different when one is involved in it for some. Killing people for most is something unnatural that the military training tries to overwrite and it doesn't always work.

Bullshit. Man evolved with hunter's instincts just like any other predatory animal. Society attempts to train the instinct out. You got it completely upside down.

 

[Jhhnn]

I've never heard of anyone receiving an article 15 for desertion or misbehavior before the enemy during wartime conditions. Both of these are court martial offenses and had all the politicians stayed out of this case the court martial would have been completed with Bergdahl more than likely been already serving time in Leavenworth.

Bullshit. Anybody with a shred of common decency knows that five years of captivity at the hands of the Taliban is punishment enough. Dishonorable discharge is just what the Army needs to do to put the whole thing behind us where it belongs.

None of this is really about Bergdahl, anyway, but about tearing down Obama & keeping those juices of self righteous recrimination flowing strong, another trumped up scandal for the Birther/Benghazi believers.