Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion

[rogue06]

Took long enough

Source: Bowe Bergdahl, once missing U.S. soldier, charged with desertion

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was recovered in Afghanistan last spring after five years in captivity, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, according to his lawyer.

Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s attorney, told The Washington Post that his client was handed a charge sheet on Tuesday. Army officials announced they will provide an update in his case at 3:30 p.m. at Fort Bragg, N.C., but declined to discuss new developments ahead of the news conference.

Bergdahl, 28, went missing from his base in Paktika province on June 30, 2009, and is believed to have grown disillusioned with the U.S. military’s mission in Afghanistan. He was held captive in Pakistan by the Haqqani network, an insurgent group allied with the Taliban, until a deal brokered through the government of Qatar was reached last year.


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So glad we traded five of the worst of the worst for him

[Sparko]

Should be tried for treason too.

[rogue06]

Should be tried for treason too.

I can't help but think of what Obama's National Security Advisor Susan Rice said in defense of the prisoner swap for him on ABC's "This Week" last June. How Berdahl had "served the United States with honor and distinction."

[Sparko]

I can't help but think of what Obama's National Security Advisor Susan Rice said in defense of the prisoner swap for him on ABC's "This Week" last June. How Berdahl had "served the United States with honor and distinction."

well it sure was some kind of stink-tion.

[DesertBerean]

She's just putting some distance between herself and the facts. If they should be able to show indisputable proof of treason, then she can express disappointment at the revelation.

[seer]

Should be tried for treason too.

yes...

[rogue06]

So glad we traded five of the worst of the worst for him

Source: Officials: Detainee swapped for Bergdahl suspected of militant activities

The U.S. military and intelligence community now suspect that one of the five Taliban detainees released from Guantanamo Bay in return for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in May of last year has attempted to return to militant activity from his current location in Qatar by making contact with suspected Taliban associates in Afghanistan, multiple officials tell CNN.

The development has led to an ongoing debate inside the administration about whether there is a new threat from this man, and potentially the other four.

This is the first known suggestion that any of the detainees involved in the exchange may be trying to engage again in militant activity. It comes at a politically sensitive time as the administration has quickened the pace of prisoner release in an effort to encourage the closure of the Guantanamo, and the Army must decide in the coming weeks whether and how to punish Bergdahl for leaving his post.

Several U.S. officials across different agencies and branches of the U.S. government have confirmed key details to CNN. The White House referred CNN to the Pentagon.

The officials would not say which of the five men is suspected. But an ongoing U.S. intelligence program to secretly intercept and monitor all of their communications in Qatar turned up evidence in recent months that one of them has "reached out" to try to encourage militant activity, one official said. The official would offer no further details.

"What I can say with confidence is this individual has not returned to the battlefield, this individual is not allowed to travel outside Qatar, and this individual has not engaged in any physical violence," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday.

Under current law, this act placed the man in the category of being "suspected" of re-engaging in terrorist or insurgent activities. However, several officials say there is now a debate inside the administration that the intelligence may be stronger than the "suspected" classification. Some elements of the intelligence community believe the information is strong enough to classify the man as "confirmed" for returning to illegal activities. All five men are having their communications even more closely monitored right now, but the belief is there is no current threat, one official told CNN.

Publicly, administration officials are emphasizing that the activity in question was revealed through monitoring mechanisms the U.S. and Qatar put into effect for the very purpose of preventing recidivism.

"The fact that our mitigation measures helped alert us to potential concerns about one of these individuals means that our mitigation measures are working and have allowed us to make appropriate adjustments in a timely manner to properly mitigate any potential threats." State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a briefing Friday.

Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby tells CNN that in addition to its discussions with the Qatari government, the United States is working across its various law enforcement and intelligence agencies to address the issue.

"We have a strong security partnership with Qatar, and are in constant dialogue with Qatari government officials about these five detainees and we are confident that we would be able to mitigate any threat of re-engagement by any of these members," Kirby said in an interview that will air Thursday night on CNN's 'Erin Burnett Out Front.'

Under intelligence laws, the definition of "confirmed" for returning to militant activity is that there is a "preponderance of information which identifies a specific former GITMO detainee as directly involved in terrorist or insurgent activities."


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Fox News is reporting that three of them have tried to reconnect to their old network.

Yup. Sooo glad we traded five of the worst of the worst for him

[Cow Poke]

I can't help but think of what Obama's National Security Advisor Susan Rice said in defense of the prisoner swap for him on ABC's "This Week" last June. How Berdahl had "served the United States with honor and distinction."

But she was using her own definition of "honor and distinction".

[Manwë Súlimo]

Thanks, Obama.

[Tassman]

Thanks, Obama.

Bowe Bergdahl is an American citizen. I was under the impression that in US law one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Hence, to leave Bergdahl as a captive in Afghanistan, rather than attempt to rescue him, is to assume his guilt. Or am I wrong?

[Cow Poke]

Bowe Bergdahl is an American citizen.

He certainly wasn't acting like one.

I was under the impression that in US law one is considered innocent until proven guilty.

Members of the military fall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
And he should NOT have been presumed to have "served the United States with honor and distinction" when there was significant evidence to the contrary.

Hence, to leave Bergdahl as a captive in Afghanistan, rather than attempt to rescue him, is to assume his guilt.

They spent 5 years trying to rescue him, during which lives were lost. And, that does NOT mean he should be traded for 5 high level enemy commanderss.

Or am I wrong?

Profoundly.

[Tassman]

He certainly wasn't acting like one.

That will be up to the court to decide, not you.

Members of the military fall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Military law is not so different from civil law. The same constitutional protections exist for example and you are entitled to the presumption of innocence until you are proven guilty.

And he should NOT have been presumed to have "served the United States with honor and distinction" when there was significant evidence to the contrary.

The"evidence to the contrary" is yet to be tested by the court.

They spent 5 years trying to rescue him, during which lives were lost. And, that does NOT mean he should be traded for 5 high level enemy commanderss.

are you suggesting that the attempted retrieval of captured Americans no longer be considered a priority?

Profoundly.

Actually no. To have left Bergdahl as a captive in Afghanistan, rather than attempt to rescue him, would have been to assume his guilt without trial which is contrary to US law - both civil and military.

[Cow Poke]

That will be up to the court to decide, not you.

Wow, you're really smart!

Military law is not so different from civil law.

Actually, there are quite a few differences. And YOU didn't even know it was UCMJ, not "US law". So much for you being smart.

The same constitutional protections exist for example and you are entitled to the presumption of innocence until you are proven guilty.

The"evidence to the contrary" is yet to be tested by the court.

And what evidence would that be?

are you suggesting that the attempted retrieval of captured Americans no longer be considered a priority?

THAT suggests you're even dumber than I thought.

Actually no. To have left Bergdahl as a captive in Afghanistan, rather than attempt to rescue him,

They WERE attempting to rescue him. It's when they started negotiating with terrorists, trading FIVE high level terrorists for one guy who walked away from his post with every apparent attention of not coming back that this went really sour.

would have been to assume his guilt without trial which is contrary to US law - both civil and military.

Wow. He'll get a trial, Tazzy. Nobody is opposing that. (Well, the Obama team is, but that's another story) He has been CHARGED, which would NEVER have happened in this politically charged situation unless there was compelling reason to believe he was guilty.

Now, let's sit back and see if this ever goes to trial, and if the civilian branch will allow the UCMJ to operate.

[Jude]

I'm think that they will allow the trial, sentence him, and then Obama pardons him on his way out of office.

[Cow Poke]

I'm think that they will allow the trial, sentence him, and then Obama pardons him on his way out of office.

That's an interesting take. I don't know if the Dems would allow that, given the huge political issue that would cause any Democratic presidential hopeful - HOWEVER - Obama never seems to care about the cost to others as long as he gets what he wants.