The Curious Case of Bowe Bergdahl

                    By Florida Bill

                                 He wanted to be a soldier and to serve his country, so he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was deployed to the Middle East.  But he grew discontent, and then, in June, 2009, he walked away from an outpost in the mountains of Afghanistan and landed, either by surrender or capture, in the custody of the Taliban, sworn enemies of the United States. 
                                 The  soldier, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, left his camp and his buddies in the still of night and his exit marked the beginning of a controversy which seeks a final resolution through a general court-martial, the army equivalency of a felony trial. He is accused of desertion and of misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit or place. 
                                 The Taliban allowed Bergdahl to return to U.S forces in exchange for America releasing five high command  terrorists held in Guantanamo prison  in Cuba.  The exchange, approved by President Obama without input from Congress, came five years after Bergdahl's disappearance from his outpost, and President Obama was joined by the soldier's parents in celebrating his release in a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House.  
                                  In the ceremony,  Bergdahl's heavily-bearded father, spoke in Arabic praising Allah and asking for his blessing. President Obama reacted by laying his hand in silent approval on his shoulder. Shortly thereafter, Obama's  National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, appeared on network television and lauded Sgt. Bergdahl by telling Americans the fiction that the non- commissioned officer had served his country "with distinction." This, of course, was a bold-faced lie.
                                 Soldiers who had served with Bergdahl in the outpost in Afghanistan reacted in anger not only to the swapping of terrorists for Bergdahl, without involving Congress, in violation of federal law, but also to Obama's public praise of an apparent deserter. They denounced the fiction being propagated.  One soldier interviewed said that he actually liked Bergdahl, but his friend deserted and must be held accountable. 
                               After an unusually long investigation into the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's leaving his post during war, and despite the positive public relations spin promulgated by the President, it was announced in December, 2015, that Sgt. Bergdahl would be tried in a general court-martial pursuant to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  If adjudged guilty of desertion, he would face a penalty of five years in prison.  If guilty of misbehavior before the enemy, he could be sentenced to life in prison.  Sgt. Bergdahl was arraigned on Dec. 22 and the presiding officer, a general, scheduled the trial to begin next year.  
                               Adding to the controversy was the revelation that President Obama had been advised way back in 2009, when Bergdahl walked off his post, that it had all the markings of a case of desertion.  Nevertheless, he promoted the Rose Garden spin session and gave his imprimatur to Rice's TV fantasy.
                                Bergdahl's father, John, said that like his son he has been studying the pashto arabic language and during the ceremony he quoted special language from the Quran praising Allah the most wonderful.  He said later that Bowe had learned Arabic during his five years held by the Taliban and that his son was having difficulty speaking his native English.  
                 Sgt. Bergdahl's court marshal will be held before a military judge, or a jury, as requested by the defendant, at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.  Evidence appears to be heavily against Bergdahl, but his defense and explanation for abandoning his post and his behavior during five years with the Islamic radical Taliban, have not yet been told.  Unlike conditions under the Taliban, in accord with Sharia law, the soldier is presumed innocent and is given the opportunity to offer his defense with witnesses.   Meanwhile, awaiting next year's trial, Bergdahl is assigned to an army base in Texas. 
                 President Obama has said that he "makes no apologies" for bringing the soldier home. We agree with the President that this is America's duty, despite the conditions and circumstances of how he was captured by the enemy. However, the deal negotiated by Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was a bad one and has been severely criticized by critics who say that Obama simply caved into terrorists during controversial negotiations with America's sworn enemy. 
                 There also is the contention that the President disregarded a statute which he himself signed into law in 2013 which obligated the President to notify Congress 30 days in advance of releasing anyone from Guantanamo. There are threats by Republican congressmen to seek impeachment of the President because of his disregard of this law.  Administration supporters argue, however that the President as Commander-in-Chief needed to act quickly and he had the authority to do as he did.  It is unlikely that impeachment legislation will ever go beyond non-stop threats over this and other similar Obama acts which fire up  political opposition. 
               Obama has pledged that he would close the prison in Cuba because he believes that it inspires hate against the United States and helps in the enemy's recruitment efforts. The Bergdahl exchange appears to be a step in line with the President's goal, which was a promise he made during his first campaign for President. But aside from the Bergdahl exchange deal, detainee releases have generated significant recidivism.  The president has glossed over the recidivist rate, terming it "just a handful."  But Obama has been less than honest in this matter as has been pointed out by Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard.  A review by the magazine has revealed that of some 605 detainees released, nearly 200 have resumed their place as active terrorists, hell-bent on killing Americans. 
                Records show that the army has prosecuted about 1,900 cases of desertion since 2001.  More than half of the defendants pleaded guilty.  Seventy-eight were tried and convicted. 
               But only one accused deserter, Sgt. Bowe Bergdhal, has the distinction of being honored at a White House ceremony upon his return to his homeland.