Today on Michael Savage's program, he said he was amazed that the Army has the guts to bring charges against Bowe Bergdahl for desertion. We were also surprised. However, on further thought, it all makes sense.
If he had not been charged, the Army would have been blamed for not prosecuting a deserter which would only encourage more of the same behavior. They had no choice in the matter as it was clear that he had left his post and joined the Taliban.
Being charged and being convicted are two different things. Bergdahl might have walked into Taliban hands but proving that will be very tricky.
First of all, the evidence is not a slam dunk. We do not know if the note he wrote to his comrades was preserved or if the email he sent to his father has incriminating information or if the computer he used contained any other information that would be defamatory. If there is evidence, then there is the possibility that a conviction is possible. Plus you have the testimony of his fellow troops who made it very clear that Bergdahl had left his post. We also know that there were deaths and injuries to those who looked for him after he was "captured."
All of this evidence is fine in a normal court. A military court is not the same as a civilian one. There are different rules of evidence and roles of the participants. The Judge (usually a higher ranked officer) can admit or refuse any evidence that he sees fit. The rub is that he is a career military person who, in most cases, wants to rise in rank. A wrong decision or verdict might cause problems for his advancement.
Additionally, it was very clear that President Obama wanted Bergdahl back and in fact authorized giving five high ranking Taliban members in exchange for his return. He also went out of his way in a Rose Garden press conference, attended by Bergdahl's parents, to say how honorable he had been before he was "captured."
So, let's think about what the President might do. He might bite the bullet and admit that his information was incorrect, that he had indeed made a mistake and that Bergdahl was indeed a bad guy and should be punished for his actions. Yes, that might happen--when cows fly!
A more likely scenario might be that he (or one of his staff) could make a call to one of the Judge's commanders and intimate that it would be in the best interests of the Judge's future in the military to hamstring the prosecution, to prevent damaging testimony from being presented. (That would never happen, right?) He might even try some good ole' jury tampering to get the verdict that he wanted.
We fear there is nothing President Obama and his staff will do to get the verdict they desire for Bergdahl. That being a not guilty one where he can get an honorable discharge and that the President can claim, "see, I was right, he was innocent all along. I did the right thing. He can now go on with his life as a free man."
It will be interesting to watch what happens to those on the jury and the trial judge. If their careers turn from ordinary to exemplary, we know they have been bought and paid for. If they render the "wrong" verdict, we assume they will leave the military and write books about the experience.
Our only hope is that Obama will have the same luck influencing the military tribunal as they did with the attempted manipulation the Israeli elections. We expect that as Commander In Chief he has a bit more power here than he did in Israel. Expect a non-guilty verdict.
Conservative Tom
Bowe Bergdahl to be Charged With Desertion
Wednesday, 25 Mar 2015 03:10 PM
The Army sergeant who abandoned his post in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban for five years will be court-martialed on charges of desertion and avoiding military service, a U.S. official said Wednesday.Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will also be charged with misbehavior before the enemy, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the announcement on the record and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
The charges are the latest development in a long and bitter debate over Bergdahl's case, and underscore the military and political ramifications of his decision on June 30, 2009, to leave his post after expressing misgivings about the U.S. military's role, as well as his own, in the Afghanistan war.
Desertion can carry a maximum penalty of death, but most military officials have said they believe that is not likely in this case.
The U.S. military planned an announcement at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, which is expected to include the location of the court-martial.
After leaving his post, Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban and held by members of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group tied to the Taliban that operates both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Last May 31, Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces in Afghanistan as part of an exchange for five Taliban commanders who were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
After spending about two weeks recuperating at a U.S. military hospital in Germany, Bergdahl was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in Texas on June 13. He has been doing administrative duties at the base, awaiting the conclusion of the case.
The exchange set off a debate over whether the U.S. should have released the five Taliban members, who could return to the battlefield.
Sen. Lindsay Graham has said he had information that one of the five has already been in touch with members of the Haqqani network. All five are being monitored in Qatar.
The five detainees released were:
Maj. Gen. Kenneth R. Dahl investigated the Bergdahl case, and spent months interviewing unit members and commanders, and meeting with Bergdahl and his attorney, Eugene Fidell, a military justice expert who is also a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School. He submitted his report in mid-October, setting in motion a legal review on his report and how the Army can proceed.
The case was referred to Gen. Mark Milley, head of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, and he has been reviewing the massive report for several months. He had a broad range of legal options.
Milley could have decided not to charge Bergdahl at all, recommend administrative action or convene a court-martial on more serious offenses.
Some within the military have suggested that Bergdahl's long capture was punishment enough, but others, including members of his former unit, have called for serious punishment, saying that other service members risked their lives — and several died — searching for him.
A major consideration was whether military officials would be able to prove that Bergdahl had no intention of returning to his unit — a key element in the more serious desertion charges.
In January, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, predicted on Newsmax TV's "The Steve Malzberg Show" that Bergdahl would be charged with desertion.
"There was evidence that Bowe Bergdahl did indeed essentially leave his duty post during time of war … otherwise known as desertion," Shaffer told Malzberg.
"Based on what I've been told is in the report, it would be very difficult for anybody who's rational to come away with any other conclusion other than that Sgt. Bergdahl did violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice by deserting his post during a time of war," he said.
Material from The Associated Press, Reuters and Newsmax archives was used in the report.
© 2015 Newsmax. All rights reservedThe charges are the latest development in a long and bitter debate over Bergdahl's case, and underscore the military and political ramifications of his decision on June 30, 2009, to leave his post after expressing misgivings about the U.S. military's role, as well as his own, in the Afghanistan war.
Desertion can carry a maximum penalty of death, but most military officials have said they believe that is not likely in this case.
After leaving his post, Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban and held by members of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group tied to the Taliban that operates both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Last May 31, Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces in Afghanistan as part of an exchange for five Taliban commanders who were imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Latest News Update
The exchange set off a debate over whether the U.S. should have released the five Taliban members, who could return to the battlefield.
Sen. Lindsay Graham has said he had information that one of the five has already been in touch with members of the Haqqani network. All five are being monitored in Qatar.
The five detainees released were:
- Abdul Haq Wasiq, who served as the Taliban deputy minister of intelligence.
- Mullah Norullah Nori, a senior Taliban commander in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif when the Taliban fought U.S. forces in late 2001.
- Khairullah Khairkhwa, who served in various Taliban positions including interior minister, and had direct ties to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden.
- Mohammed Nabi, who served as chief of security for the Taliban in Qalat, Afghanistan, and later worked as a radio operator for the Taliban's communications office in Kabul.
- Mohammad Fazl, who Human Rights Watch says could be prosecuted for war crimes for presiding over the mass killing of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001 as the Taliban sought to consolidate their control over the country.
The case was referred to Gen. Mark Milley, head of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, and he has been reviewing the massive report for several months. He had a broad range of legal options.
Milley could have decided not to charge Bergdahl at all, recommend administrative action or convene a court-martial on more serious offenses.
Some within the military have suggested that Bergdahl's long capture was punishment enough, but others, including members of his former unit, have called for serious punishment, saying that other service members risked their lives — and several died — searching for him.
A major consideration was whether military officials would be able to prove that Bergdahl had no intention of returning to his unit — a key element in the more serious desertion charges.
"There was evidence that Bowe Bergdahl did indeed essentially leave his duty post during time of war … otherwise known as desertion," Shaffer told Malzberg.
"Based on what I've been told is in the report, it would be very difficult for anybody who's rational to come away with any other conclusion other than that Sgt. Bergdahl did violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice by deserting his post during a time of war," he said.
Material from The Associated Press, Reuters and Newsmax archives was used in the report.
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