Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Tyr. Please believe me. I'm as angry, and pissed-off as you are. But...using the Military Court Martial system is the only way to go. Just shooting him because we hate him so much..puts us in the same category as our ISIS enemies. We ARE better than that. Let the trial decide. The Army isn't bowing down to Obama, or Holder. Which tells me there are still some SMARTER, SANE Heads working for the DOD.

BEFORE YOU PRAISE THE MILITARY TOO MUCH CONSIDER THIS--HE DESERTED IN A WAR ZONE TO GO GIVE AID AND COMFORT TO THE ENEMY.
His action led to the deaths of six soldiers searching for him!
That the military took the death penalty off the table is the damn problem!
He was not captured--he went to join the enemy!
He should have to face the possibility of the death penalty , the fact that's rigged to be off the table is the problem.
Why let the ffing bastard live? Is there any doubt as to his actions and his guilt. -Tyr

[aboutime]

BEFORE YOU PRAISE THE MILITARY TOO MUCH CONSIDER THIS--HE DESERTED IN A WAR ZONE TO GO GIVE AID AND COMFORT TO THE ENEMY.
His action led to the deaths of six soldiers searching for him!
That the military took the death penalty off the table is the damn problem!
He was not captured--he went to join the enemy!
He should have to face the possibility of the death penalty , the fact that's rigged to be off the table is the problem.
Why let the ffing bastard live? Is there any doubt as to his actions and his guilt. -Tyr

My response coming in a PM. Read what I said again, please?

[DragonStryk72]

Tyr. Please believe me. I'm as angry, and pissed-off as you are. But...using the Military Court Martial system is the only way to go. Just shooting him because we hate him so much..puts us in the same category as our ISIS enemies. We ARE better than that. Let the trial decide. The Army isn't bowing down to Obama, or Holder. Which tells me there are still some SMARTER, SANE Heads working for the DOD.

Yeah, death is going rather a bit far here. He didn't intentionally desert. Bowe's a shitbag, true, and he had a history of going UA off of watch, which he'd managed to do previously without getting nailed for it. I think 5 years spent as a prisoner of war by terrorists, he's likely not been chilling out at the hilton. He's most certainly been tortured for information in that time. Yeah, he certainly deserves the desertion wrap for abandoning his post, but given his history, he likely intended to return to his post later on, and got "sidetracked" by being held hostage. 5 years in a Taliban prison cell, I'm gonna say he's worked off some of it, at least. Tyr, how are you defining "Giving aid and comfort to the enemy"? Because so far, no one, not even the Army itself is considering treason, so I assume you have something more substantial to that than "he helped muslim people". The people we're trying to bring forward to the 21st century are not automatically the enemy. To have any success at what is essentially the Islamic Reformation, then we cannot automatically see every person in Islam as the enemy.

I do find it interesting, though, that it's primarily the military guys going, "Alright, let's calm down about this a bit."

And Obama's trade isn't treason. We traded back Nazis who believed in the Nazi cause, we traded back English soliders and lieutenants who went back to fighting us, it's a thing that happens in every war, period. Trading 5 for 1 was just a horrible trade, and makes us look weak when wer're strong, especially given that our guy wasn't nearly as important as the people we sent off. I could've understood it if we were using the pretext to some greater strategic end (tagging the five so that when they're released, they're back in the wind, and we can use them to track down their cells, stuff like that) The whole point of trading prisoners of war is so that we can get back troops for our side, and not have to put up the costs of housing the enemy for longer than necessary.

[Kathianne]

I don't have much faith that the president won't just pardon Bergdahl. With that said, the desertion is the lesser charge, so far; more charges may be brought.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/c...ith-desertion/

...The desertion charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison, along with a possible reduction in rank and loss of pay and allowances. But the charge of misbehavior before the enemy carries a maximum punishment of confinement for life, a dishonorable discharge, a reduction to private and total forfeiture of pay and allowances since the time of his disappearance, Army officials said...

The penalties by the military court will depend on how much they can determine that he aided in harming our troops, beyond those that were looking for him.

[aboutime]

Yeah, death is going rather a bit far here. He didn't intentionally desert. Bowe's a shitbag, true, and he had a history of going UA off of watch, which he'd managed to do previously without getting nailed for it. I think 5 years spent as a prisoner of war by terrorists, he's likely not been chilling out at the hilton. He's most certainly been tortured for information in that time. Yeah, he certainly deserves the desertion wrap for abandoning his post, but given his history, he likely intended to return to his post later on, and got "sidetracked" by being held hostage. 5 years in a Taliban prison cell, I'm gonna say he's worked off some of it, at least. Tyr, how are you defining "Giving aid and comfort to the enemy"? Because so far, no one, not even the Army itself is considering treason, so I assume you have something more substantial to that than "he helped muslim people". The people we're trying to bring forward to the 21st century are not automatically the enemy. To have any success at what is essentially the Islamic Reformation, then we cannot automatically see every person in Islam as the enemy.

I do find it interesting, though, that it's primarily the military guys going, "Alright, let's calm down about this a bit."

And Obama's trade isn't treason. We traded back Nazis who believed in the Nazi cause, we traded back English soliders and lieutenants who went back to fighting us, it's a thing that happens in every war, period. Trading 5 for 1 was just a horrible trade, and makes us look weak when wer're strong, especially given that our guy wasn't nearly as important as the people we sent off. I could've understood it if we were using the pretext to some greater strategic end (tagging the five so that when they're released, they're back in the wind, and we can use them to track down their cells, stuff like that) The whole point of trading prisoners of war is so that we can get back troops for our side, and not have to put up the costs of housing the enemy for longer than necessary.

I am just convinced, as a veteran who heard the charges announced; that I can be confident the Military Courts Martial plan WILL be used properly, and to it's fullest extent...WITHOUT Obama, or Holder trying to interfere. Call me old fashioned, but we have to allow the PROPER system to work. Otherwise, we could lose it all to POLITICIANS who screw everything up...all the time. If Obama intends to Pardon Bergdal.There's nothing any of us can do about it. Not blowing smoke here. Just telling it like it really is.

[DLT]

I hope he is given a very quick trial and then sentenced to death by firing squad.

But then I read he may only get a few years? WTF?

---

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was recovered in Afghanistan last spring after five years in captivity, has been charged with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy, Army officials said Wednesday, setting the stage for emotionally charged court proceeding in coming months.

Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s attorney, told The Washington Post that his client was handed a charge sheet on Wednesday. Army officials said in a statement that Bergdahl has been charged with desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place. His case has been referred to an Article 32 preliminary hearing, which is frequently compared to a grand jury proceeding in civilian court.

The court hearing for Bergdahl will be held at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas, where Bergdahl has served since shortly after his recovery on May 31, 2014.

Under the misbehavior before the enemy charge, Bergdahl faces a maximum punishment of confinement for life, a dishonorable discharge, a reduction to private and total forfeiture of pay and allowances since the time of his disappearance, Army officials said. The desertion charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison, a dishonorable discharge, a reduction to private and a total forfeiture of pay and allowances.

Rest here - http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/c...rtion/?hpid=z1

That would be yet another outrage for Americans and the US military. He should get 20 years for every soldier who died looking for his treasonous @ss. That's life, btw.

[DragonStryk72]

I am just convinced, as a veteran who heard the charges announced; that I can be confident the Military Courts Martial plan WILL be used properly, and to it's fullest extent...WITHOUT Obama, or Holder trying to interfere. Call me old fashioned, but we have to allow the PROPER system to work. Otherwise, we could lose it all to POLITICIANS who screw everything up...all the time. If Obama intends to Pardon Bergdal.There's nothing any of us can do about it. Not blowing smoke here. Just telling it like it really is.

Yeah, the military courts are generally pretty efficient about these things, and insist on a heavily reduced vitriol in their proceedings, so I'm pretty sure they can handle it adequately.

[jimnyc]

He didn't intentionally desert.

I'm no expert. But this guy left a note prior to leaving that he no longer wanted to fight for America and was going to start a new life. He left his gear and weapon behind. That sounds intentional to me.

[Jeff]

Yeah, death is going rather a bit far here. He didn't intentionally desert. Bowe's a shitbag, true, and he had a history of going UA off of watch, which he'd managed to do previously without getting nailed for it. I think 5 years spent as a prisoner of war by terrorists, he's likely not been chilling out at the hilton. He's most certainly been tortured for information in that time. Yeah, he certainly deserves the desertion wrap for abandoning his post, but given his history, he likely intended to return to his post later on, and got "sidetracked" by being held hostage. 5 years in a Taliban prison cell, I'm gonna say he's worked off some of it, at least. Tyr, how are you defining "Giving aid and comfort to the enemy"? Because so far, no one, not even the Army itself is considering treason, so I assume you have something more substantial to that than "he helped muslim people". The people we're trying to bring forward to the 21st century are not automatically the enemy. To have any success at what is essentially the Islamic Reformation, then we cannot automatically see every person in Islam as the enemy.

I do find it interesting, though, that it's primarily the military guys going, "Alright, let's calm down about this a bit."

And Obama's trade isn't treason. We traded back Nazis who believed in the Nazi cause, we traded back English soliders and lieutenants who went back to fighting us, it's a thing that happens in every war, period. Trading 5 for 1 was just a horrible trade, and makes us look weak when wer're strong, especially given that our guy wasn't nearly as important as the people we sent off. I could've understood it if we were using the pretext to some greater strategic end (tagging the five so that when they're released, they're back in the wind, and we can use them to track down their cells, stuff like that) The whole point of trading prisoners of war is so that we can get back troops for our side, and not have to put up the costs of housing the enemy for longer than necessary.

He sure enough intentionally left his post and left notes saying he was done fighting and we had some brave soldiers lose their lives looking for this idiot, I do agree he more than likely wasn't living the life of Riley over there, but that was all of his own doings.

As for being shot for his crime, I am not a Vet but I do believe that the military should prosecute and punish him their way. If that meant execution I would be all for it but it looks as though that isn't a option, let the military do their thing and keep the politicians out of it.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Yeah, death is going rather a bit far here. He didn't intentionally desert. Bowe's a shitbag, true, and he had a history of going UA off of watch, which he'd managed to do previously without getting nailed for it. I think 5 years spent as a prisoner of war by terrorists, he's likely not been chilling out at the hilton. He's most certainly been tortured for information in that time. Yeah, he certainly deserves the desertion wrap for abandoning his post, but given his history, he likely intended to return to his post later on, and got "sidetracked" by being held hostage. 5 years in a Taliban prison cell, I'm gonna say he's worked off some of it, at least. Tyr, how are you defining "Giving aid and comfort to the enemy"? Because so far, no one, not even the Army itself is considering treason, so I assume you have something more substantial to that than "he helped muslim people". The people we're trying to bring forward to the 21st century are not automatically the enemy. To have any success at what is essentially the Islamic Reformation, then we cannot automatically see every person in Islam as the enemy.

I do find it interesting, though, that it's primarily the military guys going, "Alright, let's calm down about this a bit."

And Obama's trade isn't treason. We traded back Nazis who believed in the Nazi cause, we traded back English soliders and lieutenants who went back to fighting us, it's a thing that happens in every war, period. Trading 5 for 1 was just a horrible trade, and makes us look weak when wer're strong, especially given that our guy wasn't nearly as important as the people we sent off. I could've understood it if we were using the pretext to some greater strategic end (tagging the five so that when they're released, they're back in the wind, and we can use them to track down their cells, stuff like that) The whole point of trading prisoners of war is so that we can get back troops for our side, and not have to put up the costs of housing the enemy for longer than necessary.

Obama traded five top commanders for one KNOWN deserter. that's TREASON BECAUSE HE --THE OBAMA-- DID SO TO AID THE ENEMY--DISAGREE FINE, BUT I AM NOT AS BLIND ABOUT HIM AS MOST ARE.
I KNOW HE IS A DAMN TRAITOR. Many vets I talk to say and know it as well.
Back to the deserter, he deserted in a war zone and he also aided the enemy. Suddenly after his voluntary desertion the enemy set many well timed ambushes ,etc. Even deserters own fellow soldiers noticed this happening and deserter wrote that famous letter--perhaps you should read it. Or at least read and take the words of his fellow comrades in arms over that of Obama, lying leftist media and the government spill. Al those soldiers have been interviewed by Hannity and the truth came out- that Berg-went on his own jihad against our forces. -TYR

[Jeff]

First off we need a guy like Carl Higbie for president !!

This retired Navy seal tells it like it is and it sounds like the death penalty ( although I am sure Obama would step in before that happened) isn't off the table. He also answers the question of the poor guy ( traitor ) being treated so poorly so that is punishment enough Anyway this is one Navy Seals thoughts and he doesn't differ from many here.

Alleged Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl should be put to death if a military court finds him guilty of abandoning his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and concludes that U.S. service members died searching for him after his disappearance, says former Navy SEAL and war on terror veteran Carl Higbie.

"As far as I'm concerned, he is a deserter and he's a traitor," Higbie, a co-author of "Battle on the Home Front: A Navy SEAL's Mission to Save the American Dream,"
told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner on Newsmax TV on Thursday.

Story continues below video.

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http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Car.../26/id/634761/

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

first off we need a guy like carl higbie for president !!

This retired navy seal tells it like it is and it sounds like the death penalty ( although i am sure obama would step in before that happened) isn't off the table. He also answers the question of the poor guy ( traitor ) being treated so poorly so that is punishment enough Anyway this is one navy seals thoughts and he doesn't differ from many here.





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http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/car.../26/id/634761/

dead on, the truth told. Vets know this guy is a damn traitor..

[gabosaurus]

I can see where Bergdahl deserted in a war zone. But how did he give aid and comfort to the enemy?

[Kathianne]

I can see where Bergdahl deserted in a war zone. But how did he give aid and comfort to the enemy?

He's not been charged with giving aid and comfort.

The most serious charge, that could result in life in prison is "misbehavior before the enemy."

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0329-schindler-bergdahl-20150329-story.html

From today's vantage point, the administration's celebration of this POW's homecoming seems misguided, to say the least. But it seemed misguided last spring, too. Even at that time, there were dissenting voices wondering if securing Bergdahl's release, in a barter with the enemy for five prominent members of the Taliban, was actually a fair trade. That the Taliban Five were among the most senior enemy combatants in American hands led to questions, as did the less-than-assuring assurances from Qatar, their new home, that the men were really out of the fight against Western forces.

Then there was the matter of how exactly Bergdahl wound up a prisoner . His former platoon mates, who with few exceptions regarded him with contempt, insisted that Bergdahl had left his post, unarmed, in search of the enemy. This does not appear to have been a spontaneous action. The sergeant, who had never been popular in his unit, had been sending personal items back to his parents, suggesting he'd planned his desertion well in advance.

It's clear that Bergdahl was mistreated by the Taliban while in their custody, yet the question of whether he collaborated with his captors, and to what extent, remains open. For years, word circulated in intelligence agencies that Bergdahl was, in fact, a defector. Some quietly considered him not worth saving at all.

Allegations of gross misconduct by Bergdahl seem to have been borne out by the very hefty charges he now faces — charges that are used rarely by military prosecutors and imply cooperation with the enemy.

...

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

He's not been charged with giving aid and comfort.

The most serious charge, that could result in life in prison is "misbehavior before the enemy."

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0329-schindler-bergdahl-20150329-story.html

He's not been charged with giving aid and comfort.

10 U.S. Code § 899 - Art. 99. Misbehavior before the enemy

Any member of the armed forces who before or in the presence of the enemy—\

(1) runs away;
(2) shamefully abandons, surrenders, or delivers up any command, unit, place, or military property which it is his duty to defend;
(3) through disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct endangers the safety of any such command, unit, place, or military property;
(4) casts away his arms or ammunition;
(5) is guilty of cowardly conduct;
(6) quits his place of duty to plunder or pillage;
(7) causes false alarms in any command, unit, or place under control of the armed forces;
(8) willfully fails to do his utmost to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy any enemy troops, combatants, vessels, aircraft, or any other thing, which it is his duty so to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy; or
(9) does not afford all practicable relief and assistance to any troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft of the armed forces belonging to the United States or their allies when engaged in battle;

shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.

--Tyr

The scum is guilty of 1, 2,3,4,5, 8 and 9.....--Tyr