Bowe Bergdahl to be charged with desertion

[Cow Poke]

Update:

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Two observations - for our liberal friends -

A) the source is not FoxNews or Breitbart - it's AP
2) I smell a plea deal (or some other accommodation)

[Sparko]

Two observations - for our liberal friends -

A) the source is not FoxNews or Breitbart - it's AP
2) I smell a plea deal (or some other accommodation)

They should take away his citizenship and deport him.

[Cow Poke]

[Mountain Man]

...the source is not FoxNews or Breitbart - it's AP

In that case, maybe we should be suspicious.

[guacamole]

Anyone know what happened with the ptsd defense that was floated a while ago?

[Cow Poke]

So.....



I'm curious why he's "coming clean".... gotta be a deal in the works.

[Mountain Man]

And this was the fine young soldier who we traded for the release of five top terrorists? I'm not sure, but I think we might have gotten a bad deal.

[seer]

I'm not sure, but I think we might have gotten a bad deal.

Ya think?

[rogue06]

It was like trading Himmler, Goering, Goebbels, Eichmann and Heydrich for "Private Ryan" while suspecting the latter might be a Nazi collaborator.

[seer]

Bergdahl is getting off easy...

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[Adrift]

I don't really know that much about the political partisanship about the guy. Didn't bother reading most of this thread, but there was a fantastic podcast that went into major depth on his reasons for leaving the base, his years in captivity, and what friends, and his co-soldiers think about him. I came away from the podcast feeling he did a super boneheaded thing, but that he was certainly no traitor, and I sincerely don't think he intended to do any harm.

You can find the podcast here:

https://serialpodcast.org/season-two

[Sparko]

I don't really know that much about the political partisanship about the guy. Didn't bother reading most of this thread, but there was a fantastic podcast that went into major depth on his reasons for leaving the base, his years in captivity, and what friends, and his co-soldiers think about him. I came away from the podcast feeling he did a super boneheaded thing, but that he was certainly no traitor, and I sincerely don't think he intended to do any harm.

You can find the podcast here:

https://serialpodcast.org/season-two

I don't think he is a traitor. I do think he is a deserter and that is what he is being charged as. He walked away from his post and deserted the army.

That means:
1. He abandoned his fellow troops putting them in danger
2. He caused a huge manhunt in which others got harmed (I heard 5 or 6 died trying to find him?)
3. Because of his actions they released several known terrorists in exchange for him, putting more people's lives in danger.

So he should have to pay some penalty for that. I don't know about if he colluded with the enemy or not. But I don't think his time in their hands, whether voluntary or not, should count as any sort of "time served"

If he truly wanted to just stop fighting or disagreed with the Army, he could have just turned himself in to his commander and said he refused to fight, and took whatever punishment he deserved. Walking off into the desert was either completely stupid, or a deliberate attempt to join the enemy.

[Adrift]

I don't think he is a traitor. I do think he is a deserter and that is what he is being charged as. He walked away from his post and deserted the army.

That means:
1. He abandoned his fellow troops putting them in danger
2. He caused a huge manhunt in which others got harmed (I heard 5 or 6 died trying to find him?)
3. Because of his actions they released several known terrorists in exchange for him, putting more people's lives in danger.

So he should have to pay some penalty for that. I don't know about if he colluded with the enemy or not. But I don't think his time in their hands, whether voluntary or not, should count as any sort of "time served"

If he truly wanted to just stop fighting or disagreed with the Army, he could have just turned himself in to his commander and said he refused to fight, and took whatever punishment he deserved. Walking off into the desert was either completely stupid, or a deliberate attempt to join the enemy.

Yeah, I agree that he deserted. The manhunt that got people presumably harmed is debatable. The podcast goes into exactly who may or may not have been harmed, and if it really had anything directly do with the manhunt, and yep, I agree that it sucks that they traded captives for him, but I'm not sure what other option were available except to just let him die, which I think would have been the worse option. I'm 99% certain after listening to the podcast that he did not collude with the enemy. He was severely tortured and put in a very bad way during his internment. He was a simple kid who made a really bad decision that he stupidly thought would help his fellow soldiers, ended up tortured, starved, and humiliated for half a decade, cost the nation he was serving millions of dollars, and unintentionally helped the enemy, and when the ordeal was over, he now has a good portion of the nation who've heard of his name hating him. I'm surprised he hasn't taken his own life, or if he hasn't thought about doing so a thousand times a day. Honestly, from what I understand about his circumstances, I feel bad for him.

By the way, he didn't walk out off because he was intending to desert (though that's what he was, in fact, doing). He walked off because he was attempting to get to the main base to show (in his own goofy way) how poorly he and his fellow soldiers conditions were in the field. As I recall, he thought he'd get into a bit of trouble, but that he was going to stay in.

[Cow Poke]

By the way, he didn't walk out off because he was intending to desert (though that's what he was, in fact, doing). He walked off because he was attempting to get to the main base to show (in his own goofy way) how poorly he and his fellow soldiers conditions were in the field. As I recall, he thought he'd get into a bit of trouble, but that he was going to stay in.

I wonder, then, why he would plead guilty as charged. And, again, I suspect some kind of deal has been arranged. Perhaps in sentencing.

[One Bad Pig]

I wonder, then, why he would plead guilty as charged. And, again, I suspect some kind of deal has been arranged. Perhaps in sentencing.

According to the local rag, there was no deal arranged.