After an extensive investigation, the Army reportedly intends to charge Sgt Bowe Bergdahl with desertion, a finding that clashes dramatically with the Obama administration's description of Bergdahl when the controversial swap was first announced. Bergdahl, the administration claimed, had “served the United States with honor and distinction” and was “captured on the battlefield.” According to senior defense officials, the Army has determined otherwise.
When the controversial Bergdahl-Taliban swap occurred this summer, the administration rolled out National Security Advisor Susan Rice (already under fire for her false claims about the origins of the Benghazi attack) to defend the administration's decision to trade five high-ranking Taliban leaders for a man widely believed to have abandoned his post. Speaking on ABC June 2, Rice declared that Bergdahl “served the United States with honor and distinction” and suggested that he would not face future punishment:
Rice: Certainly anybody who's been held in those conditions, in captivity for five years, has paid an extraordinary price. But that is really not the point. The point is that he's back. He is going to be safely reunited with his family. He served the United States with honor and distinction. And we’ll have the opportunity eventually to learn what has transpired in the past years, but what's most important now is his health and well-being, that he has the opportunity to recover in peace and security and be reunited with his family. Which is why this is such a joyous day.
Rice also insisted that Bergdahl was not “simply a hostage” but a “prisoner of war captured on the battlefield”:
Rice: Sergeant Bergdahl wasn't simply a hostage; he was an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield. We have a sacred obligation that we have upheld since the founding of our republic to do our utmost to bring back our men and women who are taken in battle, and we did that in this instance.
The Obama administration knew quite well what an investigation into Bergdahl’s disappearance would likely find but sent out an embattled Rice to blindly adamantly the decision nonetheless. As Noah Rothman asks, where’s the feminist outrage over the administration’s repeated use of Rice as a scapegoat?
As for the potential consequences of a desertion charge, NBC News provides some details:
Those charges carry a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison upon conviction, but sources tell NBC News the Army is considering crediting Bergdahl for the 5 years he spent in captivity and be given the opportunity to avoid prosecution by leaving the Army with a "less than honorable discharge."
If accepted, Bergdahl could be denied as much as $300,000 in back pay and benefits and be reduced in rank from Sergeant to Private First Class or lower.
Pentagon Spokesman Read Admiral Kirby reiterated said on Tuesday that "no decision has been made" yet.
Partial transcript via Weekly Standard.
