No prison for U.S. Army deserter Bergdahl, who Trump wanted dead

[rooster59]

No prison for U.S. Army deserter Bergdahl, who Trump wanted dead

By Greg Lacour

 

Bowe Bergdahl, who was demoted and dishonourably discharged from the U.S. Army for abandoning his post in Afghanistan, drives away from the courthouse at the conclusion of his court martial at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, U.S., November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake

 

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (Reuters) - U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl on Friday was spared prison for endangering his comrades in arms when he deserted in Afghanistan in 2009, a sentence swiftly condemned by President Donald Trump, who while seeking election had called for his execution.

 

"The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military," Trump posted on Twitter from Air Force One as he flew to Asia at the start of a lengthy tour of the region.

 

A military judge recommended that Bergdahl should be dishonourably discharged from the service, demoted to private and forfeit $10,000 in pay. Army Colonel Jeffery Nance took less than a minute to render his decision and made no other comment.

 

Bergdahl was captured eight years ago by the Taliban after walking off his combat outpost. He endured torture and malnutrition while held prisoner by the insurgent group for nearly five years. His case sparked a national debate over whether he was a victim or a villain.

 

The soldier, who had pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy, faced a maximum term of life in prison.

 

Late Friday morning, the 31-year-old Hailey, Idaho, native trembled as he waited to hear his punishment in a courtroom in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

 

Defence lawyers, who had urged Nance to show leniency, said after sentencing that Bergdahl was relieved and eager to move on, though they would not discuss his plans. Bergdahl has remained on active duty at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

 

"This has been a terrible ordeal," said one of his lawyers, Eugene Fidell.

 

Neither Bergdahl nor prosecutors, who had sought a 14-year prison term, commented.

 

Soldiers who testified about the hardships and injuries suffered in the hunt for Bergdahl after he walked off his post in Paktika province in June 2009 without permission said they were disappointed by the sentence.

 

"It’s definitely a slap in the face," former Army Specialist Jonathan Morita said in a phone interview. Morita's right hand was mangled by a rocket-propelled grenade during a July 2009 raid seeking intelligence on Bergdahl's whereabouts.

 

Along with criticism over the years from U.S. political leaders and fellow soldiers over the dangerous searches prompted by Bergdahl's actions, the conditions of his release sparked controversy.

 

In May 2014, Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special operations troops in Afghanistan in exchange for five Taliban detainees, who were released from the Guantanamo Bay prison and flown to Qatar.

 

Last year, as a Republican presidential candidate, Trump called Bergdahl "a no-good traitor who should have been executed."

 

Responding to a defence motion on Trump's comments, Colonel Nance ruled they had not influenced him nor affected Bergdahl's chances of a fair sentence. However, the judge said he would consider them a mitigating factor.

 

Defence attorney Fidell said on Friday that Americans should be offended by Trump's behaviour.

 

"President Trump's unprincipled effort to stoke a lynch-mob atmosphere while seeking our nation's highest office has cast a dark cloud over the case," he said.

 

A dishonourable discharge, issued for the most serious offences, cuts off all military and veterans benefits, including healthcare from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

 

That could pose difficulties for Bergdahl, who, according to testimony, suffered significant nerve damage while a Taliban prisoner and has several mental health conditions.

 

His punishment must be approved by the commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces Command and then will automatically be reviewed on appeal. The discharge will not take effect until an appellate court affirms Bergdahl's conviction and sentence.

 

Two portraits of Bergdahl emerged during the sentencing proceedings.

 

Defence lawyers said he was a young, hardworking soldier who did not understand the full consequences of his actions when he left to report what he said were problems in his unit.

 

Bergdahl apologised in court this week for the pain he caused fellow service members and admitted he had made "a horrible mistake."

 

But prosecutors said Bergdahl knew he would trigger alarm in the war zone. They acknowledged he suffered during his years as a Taliban prisoner, but argued it resulted from his choices and did not diminish the harm he caused others.

 

Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Addicott said he was surprised by the judge's decision.

 

"You had several members of our military who have been maimed for the rest of their life because of what Bergdahl did, so he should have received jail time, in my opinion," said Addicott, now a law professor at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-04

[ezzra]

There's this 1980 Aussie movie and is etched in my minds since, it's called Breaker Morant, where rule 303 was applied as his punishment for desertion,  303 being the type of rifle that the firing squad were using at the time to depose of cowardly  deserters....

[Briggsy]

With regards to Trump's comments, they were very reckless and may well have prejudiced the trial. They were also hypocritical in the extreme, cowardly Trump with his "bone spur" and lifetime of zero philanthropy towards his fellow citizens has no right whatsoever to lead a lynch mob.

[newatthis]

40 minutes ago, ezzra said:

There's this 1980 Aussie movie and is etched in my minds since, it's called Breaker Morant, where rule 303 was applied as his punishment for desertion,  303 being the type of rifle that the firing squad were using at the time to depose of cowardly  deserters....

I think Breaker Morant was executed for murdering POW's and civilians rather than desertion.

[greatwhitenorth]

Isn 't he the hero that President Obama traded 5 terrorists for and had over to the White House?

 

49 American military men were sentenced to death for desertion during World War 2.

Only Pvt Eddie Slovik was executed, the rest of the sentences were commuted

.Execution of Private Slovik (1974) tells the story and Martin Sheen stars

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

Isn 't he the hero that President Obama traded 5 terrorists for and had over to the White House?
 
49 American military men were sentenced to death for desertion during World War 2.
Only Pvt Eddie Slovik was executed, the rest of the sentences were commuted
.Execution of Private Slovik (1974) tells the story and Martin Sheen stars
 
 

Thankfully that didn't happen here, despite the President's stupid intervention.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[darksidedog]

Whilst the leniency of this sentence is surprising, the Donald call for the death sentence is, to my mind, the most deplorable thing in the whole story. The only people likely to be impressed by it are the morons who still believe his daily lies and who suck up his vile vitriol.

[RuamRudy]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

There's this 1980 Aussie movie and is etched in my minds since, it's called Breaker Morant, where rule 303 was applied as his punishment for desertion,  303 being the type of rifle that the firing squad were using at the time to depose of cowardly  deserters....

Now I have never been in the military so I am willing to be corrected by those with better understanding, but if I was planning to desert my unit, I could think of wiser ways to do so than wandering off from my very isolated post, surrounded by hostile communities and flag down a passing motorbike. Could it be the folly of leadership at the very top, that saw a group of ill prepared and under resourced men placed in a terrifying situation, led to a psychological breakdown in this guy which led him to behave so irrationally?

[brewsterbudgen]

Now I have never been in the military so I am willing to be corrected by those with better understanding, but if I was planning to desert my unit, I could think of wiser ways to do so than wandering off from my very isolated post, surrounded by hostile communities and flag down a passing motorbike. Could it be the folly of leadership at the very top, that saw a group of ill prepared and under resourced men placed in a terrifying situation, led to a psychological breakdown in this guy which led him to behave so irrationally?

Yup. But that doesn't suit the Right's talking points!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[ezzra]

58 minutes ago, newatthis said:

I think Breaker Morant was executed for murdering POW's and civilians rather than desertion.

 

I stand corrected, never the less, a deserter who put his comrades in perils and danger is the worst kind of soldier/ human being to have on the battle field and they should be dealt with harshly...

 

[RuamRudy]

The Serial Podcast season 2 has an indepth look at the case from the perspective of Berghdal, his platoon, his family and military officials over 11 fascinating episodes. Neither sentimental nor sympathetic, it is well worth listening to for deeper insight into the events leading up to his walking off, and his experiences during his years in captivity.  

[ezzra]

14 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

Now I have never been in the military so I am willing to be corrected by those with better understanding, but if I was planning to desert my unit, I could think of wiser ways to do so than wandering off from my very isolated post, surrounded by hostile communities and flag down a passing motorbike. Could it be the folly of leadership at the very top, that saw a group of ill prepared and under resourced men placed in a terrifying situation, led to a psychological breakdown in this guy which led him to behave so irrationally?

You can't have just any low ranking soldiers making decisions whether they like the conditions on the battle field or not, and if they don't they just take a hike, if it so, can you imagine what army will it be?...

[RuamRudy]

1 minute ago, ezzra said:

You can't have just any low ranking soldiers making decisions whether

they like the conditions on the battle field or not, and if they don't

they just take a hike, if it so, can you imagine what army will it be?...

I fully agree - but the decision he made was clearly not a rational one. To condemn the man because he acted out of what appears to be temporary delusion is somewhat harsh. Did we learn nothing from WW1?

 

Their being there, under resourced and under prepared as they were, was the real crime - that is what should be investigated. 

[greatwhitenorth]

I wonder if the parents of these men are comforted by the justice delivered today.

[brewsterbudgen]

56 minutes ago, greatwhitenorth said:

I wonder if the parents of these men are comforted by the justice delivered today.

Except that's not true.

 

https://serialpodcast.org/posts/2016/10/was-anyone-killed-looking-for-bowe-bergdahl-some-hard-evidence-at-long-last

[RuamRudy]

48 minutes ago, greatwhitenorth said:

I wonder if the parents of these men are comforted by the justice delivered today.

This link includes the US Army's official investigations into these 6 deaths and whether they were related to the search for Bergdhal.

 

"...the Army itself has never declared whether these deaths were in fact connected to the search for Bergdahl. The closest they got to a public statement was in 2014, when then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a congressional hearing, “I have seen no evidence that directly links any American combat death to the rescue or finding or search of Sergeant Bergdahl.”

 

"This report includes an extensive discussion about what went wrong on this mission. It says the patrol was horribly planned and badly executed in every possible way. Which is in line with what some soldiers and commanders told us in interviews: that in the days and weeks right after Bergdahl left his outpost, there was such a scramble to find him that soldiers were sometimes left under-equipped and vulnerable. But whether any deaths can be attributed to the search for Bergdahl, according to the Army, the answer seems to be no."

 

 

How shameful it is that people continue to peddle this lie, without any concern as to the pain they are causing the families of the dead soldiers, just to score cheap, political points.

[greatwhitenorth]

15 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

 

How shameful it is that people continue to peddle this lie, without any concern as to the pain they are causing the families of the dead soldiers, just to score cheap, political points.

 

I couldn t agree more.  President Trump has taken politicalization of Americas fallen war heros to a new low with his very public disagreement with the war widow recently.

The previous low was Hillary Clinton's bloody hand from Bengahzzy

 

You cite your sources, I am happy to cite mine. https://serialpodcast.org/posts/2016/10/was-anyone-killed-looking-for-bowe-bergdahl-some-hard-evidence-at-long-last.

 

What we probably agree on is I am glad Trump didn t get his wish and the man be put to death. 

 

 

[ronrat]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

There's this 1980 Aussie movie and is etched in my minds since, it's called Breaker Morant, where rule 303 was applied as his punishment for desertion,  303 being the type of rifle that the firing squad were using at the time to depose of cowardly  deserters....

No it wasn't. Rule 303 applied to captured Boer soldiers.

[boomerangutang]

It's likely Trump contributed to a lighter sentence, due to his dumbass comments prior.

 

Similarly, Trump calling for the execution of the recent NYC killer - will guarantee the killer NOT get executed.  The reason:  The jury would be deemed influenced by Trump's statement, and US justice system doesn't respond well to people in powerful political positions influencing court decisions.

[zaphod reborn]

Trump still hasn't accepted the blame for 4 dead in Niger, instead finding fault with the generals.  He has absolutely zero credibility commenting upon or being in any way involved in military matters.

[RuamRudy]

1 hour ago, greatwhitenorth said:

 

I couldn t agree more.  President Trump has taken politicalization of Americas fallen war heros to a new low with his very public disagreement with the war widow recently.

The previous low was Hillary Clinton's bloody hand from Bengahzzy

 

You cite your sources, I am happy to cite mine. https://serialpodcast.org/posts/2016/10/was-anyone-killed-looking-for-bowe-bergdahl-some-hard-evidence-at-long-last.

 

What we probably agree on is I am glad Trump didn t get his wish and the man be put to death. 

 

 

I am a little confused - did you mean to cite a different link? Otherwise we are both referencing the same link but drawing different conclusions.

[Proboscis]

2 hours ago, greatwhitenorth said:

I wonder if the parents of these men are comforted by the justice delivered today.

Yes, and it was the enemy who killed them.

[greatwhitenorth]

8 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

I am a little confused - did you mean to cite a different link? Otherwise we are both referencing the same link but drawing different conclusions.

 

This report includes an extensive discussion about what went wrong on this mission. It says the patrol was horribly planned and badly executed in every possible way. Which is in line with what some soldiers and commanders told us in interviews: that in the days and weeks right after Bergdahl left his outpost, there was such a scramble to find him that soldiers were sometimes left under-equipped and vulnerable. But whether any deaths can be attributed to the search for Bergdahl, according to the Army, the answer seems to be no.

 

If they weren 't out looking for him, they wouldn t have died. Tragic to lose ones son's life for a deserter.  

[Chip Allen]

Military logic has always mystified me. "Either consent to being murdered by foreign strangers or WE will murder you with a court marshall. Never forget that you are cannon-fodder and your life belongs to the state."

[Bigfarang1948]

5 hours ago, Briggsy said:

With regards to Trump's comments, they were very reckless and may well have prejudiced the trial. They were also hypocritical in the extreme, cowardly Trump with his "bone spur" and lifetime of zero philanthropy towards his fellow citizens has no right whatsoever to lead a lynch mob.

You would have no problem finding volunteers to lynch this coward, traitor, deserter, not fit to be called a soldier. Trump is right, he deserves to die for what he did. I will supply the rope, put the noose over his sorry face and kick the trap door pin out of the latch.

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Responding to a defence motion on Trump's comments, Colonel Nance ruled they had not influenced him nor affected Bergdahl's chances of a fair sentence. However, the judge said he would consider them a mitigating factor.

No doubt Bergdahl thanks POTUS Trump for his interference.

If Trump is unhappy with the results, maybe he should keep his military commander in chief thoughts to himself. It's clear Trump affected the sentencing of Bergdahl.

[Thaidream]

Donald Trump as President ofthe United States has taken the Office of President to a new low by attempting to act as a Judge in not only this case but the New York terrorist case. His statements influence people and cause problems in legal cases.

 

As a former soldier- What Bergdahl did was wrong but he paid for his action by spending 5 years in captivity and was given a dishonorable discharge by a military judge. To me, this was a fair judgement made by a person who is a military member himself as well as the law.

 

Trump needs to keep his mouth shut and worry about his own skin- he is in danger of being impeached because of his obstruction of justice- the evidence is one of his tweets- the more he tweets the easier it is to see him for what he is- incompetent and suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. Go  ahead- keep tweeting and  dishonoring Gold Star families while providing  support for corrupt American  cabinet members and members of the White House. Worst President ever-...and a person lacking in basic humanity.

[ilostmypassword]

1 hour ago, Bigfarang1948 said:

You would have no problem finding volunteers to lynch this coward, traitor, deserter, not fit to be called a soldier. Trump is right, he deserves to die for what he did. I will supply the rope, put the noose over his sorry face and kick the trap door pin out of the latch.

And you would find no shortage of legal experts who would say that if Trump wanted this guy to be punished severely, he did exactly the wrong thing to attain that end.

[nasanews]

The guy volunteered to serve his country, spent 5 years in captivity then was given a dishonorable discharge.   Now you want him dead!?   I rather sell tomatoes on thinking of joining such an army.

[Thaidream]

No one is excusing Mr Bergdahl from what he did but his actions caused him to become a prisoner for 5 years and it appears he suffered considerably during his captivity and tried to escape many times.  Those supporting a death sentence, to include Trump, are way over the top. The average citizen and anyone on this board is entitled to their opinion.  However Trump is the President and a member of the military chain of command and his outbursts on legal cases can appear to be using his position to influence events.

Every military member; every  person subject to the American legal process needs to have their case judged according to the law and receive a fair trial.  Calling for the death penalty by a President not only demeans the office; makes a mockery out of the chain of command and places an unfair burden on the principle of blind justice.