No Need to Prosecute Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl - NYTimes.com

It won’t be hard for military lawyers to argue that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl violated military regulations when he slipped out of a remote outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 and became a Taliban prisoner for five years.

They would have a tougher time explaining why it’s worthwhile to prosecute a soldier the Army recruited despite significant concerns about his psychological state and who endured years of torture and privation during his captivity. As a general matter, the American military has good reason to punish service members who desert. However, it should exercise discretion in extraordinary cases. Sergeant Bergdahl’s is certainly one.

[Calling this man a Sergeant should be the first egregious act because we know, from the testimony of his brothers-in-arms that Bergdahl voluntarily deserted his post and was not in any sense a prisoner of war – but a useful idiot who got himself captured and sold as a bargaining chip – but the victim of a self-inflicted would. He was a private and should be treated like a private.

And the reason you prosecute such a deserter is to maintain good order and discipline in the ranks – regardless of the left’s disdain of the military and to honor the memory of those men who died trying to locate this errant fool or died while resources were unavailable because of the search.]

Sergeant Bergdahl, who joined the Army in 2008, was among the legion of recruits who were granted eligibility waivers to join the military during a period when it was struggling to attract applicants because of the multiple lengthy deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan that were common. His attempt in 2006 to join the Coast Guard was short-lived; he was discharged 26 days into basic training because of concerns about his psychological state. Before Sergeant Bergdahl walked out of his base in Paktika Province on June 30, 2009, it was clear to some of his family members back home, and some of his comrades in Afghanistan, that he was emotionally distressed and at times delusional. Citing an Army investigative report, his lawyer, in a letter to the military, describes his client as “naïve and at times unrealistic.”

[So it is now the Army’s fault that Bergdahl deserted or that Bergdahl was mentally unstable. There are any number of problematical soldiers serving – and they don’t desert.]

In a statement about the conditions of his detention, released by his lawyer on Wednesday after the Army’s announcement that it had filed charges, Sergeant Bergdahl says he was chained to a bed, locked in a cage, shackled and at times beaten. He had sores from his shackles and became skeletal as a result of poor nutrition and chronic ailments.

[Although the Obama Administration tried to spin the story – lying once again to the American people – that Bergdahl was in poor condition and his extraction was so exigent as not to notify Congress, was proven to be a falsehood the moment Bergdahl left that truck and headed for the helicopter. If you want to see real captivity and real torture, why not check-in with Senator John McCain who really did suffer under the brutal Viet Cong.]

When Sergeant Bergdahl returned home last summer after the Obama administration agreed to release five Taliban prisoners in exchange for his freedom, it soon became clear that many people in the military harbored deep animosity toward him. Some called him a coward and argued that he put troops in Afghanistan in harm’s way as they devoted significant resources and energy to searching for him. This anger is understandable.

[Damn straight it is justifiable. Good men, honorable men, died or were injured looking for this POS.]

But trying him for desertion and misbehaving before the enemy — for allegedly engaging in misconduct that endangered his unit — stands to accomplish little at this point. A conviction would most likely deprive a traumatized veteran of benefits, including medical care, which he will probably need for years. A dishonorable discharge would make it harder to rebuild his life as a civilian.

[Boo effin hoo – how many soldiers were given general or bad conduct discharges for some infraction of the rules? They too have a hard time in civilian life. But the difference is that they did not desert, actively seek the enemy, and possible aid that enemy in improving their tactics. Yes, he is traumatized, so let’s get him help as he serves a life sentence for desertion and misbehaving before the enemy.]

A trial would publicly raise important questions about how Sergeant Bergdahl was allowed into the Army and whether there were missed opportunities to avert the crisis his capture created. Those questions, however, should be addressed outside of a courtroom.

<Source: New York Times>