Bergdahl - The Hypocrisy and Hate Must End

LadyJazzer wrote: A day without a call for impeachment is a day without sunshine...

ScienceChic wrote: [
Those screaming that what Obama did was wrong to bring him home, and that he needs to be impeached, need to step back and realize we've done this countless times before, negotiating and working with terrorists. Our hands are not clean and will never be so long as we continue to interfere in foreign affairs, so long as power corrupts the human soul, and the ends justifies the means.

ScienceChic wrote: Was Bergdahl a Deserter? This Is What Happens When a Soldier Disappears
And more facts on who deserts, why, and what happens to them.
—By Tasneem Raja
| Wed Jun. 4, 2014

While pundits and vets argue over whether Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant released from five years of captivity in Afghanistan by the Taliban in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay prisoners, is a hero or a traitor, one thing is clear: like Bergdahl, tens of thousands of soldiers have walked away from duty in the past two decades alone, and the Army has been puzzling over what to do with deserters for far longer. Here's a primer:

What's the difference between a deserter and someone who's AWOL?
The terms "deserter" and "AWOL" are often used interchangeably, but in fact one condition precedes the other.

AWOL: Any soldier who has taken unauthorized leave from their training or duty station
Deserter: On 31st day of AWOL, a soldier is "dropped from the rolls" and administratively marked as a deserter

A good analogy between the two is the difference between cutting a class and dropping out of school altogether. It's important to note that being administratively classified a deserter doesn't necessarily mean a soldier has been convicted of desertion, which is a felony offense and involves a whole different process, usually involving an arrest and a court-martial.

So where does Bergdahl fall? He was captured within 24 hours of leaving his base without authorization. As the military news site Stars and Stripes makes clear, he was never classified as a deserter.

What happens to deserters?

Read more at the link if you wish, they've got additional stats and info.

I haven't done all of the research on his case. I know his fellow troops have said he left, yet many hundreds others have as well (having a bad day, emotional breakdowns, combat stress overload, etc - a snap bad decision that they take back later, or maybe don't), but they had the chance to come back before repercussions because they didn't get captured. I'd rather wait and find out what's learned during his debriefing, and what actions the military takes - rehab, discharge, court-martial, etc - before I condemn this man based on incomplete information. The fact of the matter is, as Jim Wright said, he's an American and our first duty is to bring everyone home that we send into the grind of war - we're even still searching for POWs in Korea. Then he can be dealt with for proper justice if need be, but we don't leave him to the enemy.

Those screaming that what Obama did was wrong to bring him home, and that he needs to be impeached, need to step back and realize we've done this countless times before, negotiating and working with terrorists. Our hands are not clean and will never be so long as we continue to interfere in foreign affairs, so long as power corrupts the human soul, and the ends justifies the means.

GOP Strategists Are Arranging Media Interviews To Attack Bowe Bergdahl

..[T]he report about the only known American prisoner of war in Afghanistan, who was released in a prisoner swap secured by the Obama administration this weekend, also revealed a larger story about the backlash against Bergdahl by disclosing that Republican strategists organized media interviews with members of his former platoon.

On Tuesday, BuzzFeed identified Richard Grenell, who once served as an aide to U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and later worked for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, as playing a key role in publicizing Bergdahl's critics.

"My role was to ask the firm to help facilitate the interviews for free. Brad Chase agreed to do it. He is handling all the requests. He isn't political. I originally spoke to Cody, the leader, via Twitter then asked the firm," Grenell told The Huffington Post's Sam Stein.