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02-24-2015, 01:24 PM
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From February 2.....
"A retired Navy officer and military analyst believes the military needs to decide one way or another whether it intends to file charges of desertion against a soldier who left his post in Afghanistan.
Army and Pentagon officials said last week no decision has been made on what criminal charges – if any – will be filed against Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the soldier who left his post in Afghanistan and was held by the Taliban for five years before being released in a prisoner exchange last year. The case has become politicized because some members of Congress, as well as former members of Bergdahl's unit, criticized the Obama administration for trading someone they considered a deserter for five top Taliban commanders held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Commander Kirk Lippold (USN-Ret.), who commanded the USS Cole when it was attacked by terrorists in 2000, describes the message he thinks should be delivered to the senior military leadership within the army.
"I would be [telling them they] need to make a decision on whether to charge or not to charge this young man, because the reality also is Bergdahl deserves timely justice as well," he tells OneNewsNow. "So either charge him or make the announcement we're not going to charge him."
In Lippold's opinion, Bergdahl clearly should never have been swapped for the terrorists.
"The bottom line is the president of the United States violated U.S. law by releasing those five terrorists, several of whom clearly were tied to deaths of Americans in Afghanistan," he argues. "They should never have been released.
"So it's a matter of the president broke the law – and there has been absolutely no penalty for it because no one wants to take him on on this issue," Lippold concludes."
Advice to military: Just make a decision on Bergdahl
From February 4
"SPOKANE, Wash. – A decision is expected anytime on whether Bowe Bergdahl will face military charges.
Bergdahl reportedly left his post in Afghanistan nearly six years ago. The Pentagon said its investigation is in its final stages. Many fellow comrades said it is already clear Bergdahl is a deserter.
Sergeant First Class Nathan Botts spent 22 years in the US Army. He was in the same battalion as Bergdahl. He said it was clear from the get go that Bergdahl had deserted his post. He hopes that the military will punish Bergdahl as a traitor."
"otts feels his actions are worthy of the military's highest punishment, the death sentence. He said he is not the only one who feels Bergdahl never should have been traded in the prisoner exchange that released five Taliban fighters back onto the front lines.
"I'm sorry. A deserter is not worth that. He's not," said Botts."
Fellow soldier says Bergdahl should get death penalty
"I can’t stop thinking about Bowe Bergdahl. Not since CNN’s recent report that one of the “Taliban Five” freed from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for the undeserving Army sergeant may very well have re-engaged in “terrorist or insurgent activities.”
It brings to mind the White House Rose Garden celebration President Obama hosted in May for Bob and Jani Bergdahl, Bowe’s parents.
Said Obama: “Bob and Jani, today families across America share in the joy that I know you feel. As a parent, I can’t imagine the hardship that you guys have gone through. As president, I know I speak for all Americans when I say we cannot wait for the moment when you are reunited and your son, Bowe, is back in your arms.”
As to those who would question the wisdom of releasing five “high-value” Taliban detainees from Gitmo (and flying them off to Qatar, where they are free to roam the country), Obama stated: “The Qatar government has given us assurances that it will put in place measures to protect our national security.”
"Well, we see how that has worked out.
Meanwhile, not long after very publicly feting Bob and Jani at the White House, Obama decided he should put some distance between himself and the Bergdahls.
That’s because of the growing suspicion that Bowe – the only U.S. solider to be held captive in Afghanistan – did not somehow fall into the hands of the enemy, but intentionally sought out the Taliban."
"Indeed, the nonpartisan General Accounting Office concluded in August that Obama broke the law when he freed the Taliban Five in exchange for Bergdahl by not notifying Congress at least 30 days beforehand.
And there is yet another reason Obama wouldn’t want Dahl’s report in the open if it’s damning to Bergdahl – because it would remind the American people that the suspected deserter’s freedom was purchased at the price of releasing from Gitmo five sworn enemies of the U.S."
Obama has put Bergdahl in the rear-view mirror - The Orange County Register
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