Obama traded 5 Gitmo-held terrorists for Army soldier
Seven months after the military began an investigation into
the disappearance of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and his capture by the Taliban,
which held him for five years, a new report indicates Army officials have
determined Bergdahl — for whom the administration traded five top Gitmo-held
terrorists — will be charged as a deserter.
Retired Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, a senior fellow at the London
Center for Policy Research, made the startling claim during an appearance on
“The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News:
Bergdahl’s attorney
has received the charges, according to Shaffer, who claims the Obama
administration is withholding the report.
But
the Army Times claims the Army says there’s no truth to claims a decision has
been made on the Bergdahl case.
Paul Boyce, spokesman for Forces Command, told the Army Times there is no
charge sheet and the Fox News story “seems to be speculative in nature.”
“What they are reporting is
untrue – there has been no update to what we provided in Dec.
Investigation is still with [General Mark] Milley who will determine
appropriate action – which ranges from no further action to convening a
court martial. We cannot discuss or disclose the findings of the investigation
while disciplinary decisions are pending before commanders,” the Army
said in a statement provided to CNN Tuesday.
Likewise, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby
posted the following statement on Twitter: “Contrary to media reporting, no
decision made by Army leadership with respect to Sgt. Bergdahl’s case. The
process will be respected.”
O’Reilly said the White House has had this information for a
while but has been delaying it under the auspices of Ben Rhodes, assistant
national security adviser.
“This is shaping up to be a Titanic struggle behind the
scenes,” Shaffer said. “Believe me, the Army here wants to do the right thing.
Factually, there’s no way they can not do the right thing regarding Bergdahl.
And the White House, because of the political narrative, President Obama
cozying up to the parents and because he, President Obama, releasing the five
Taliban. … The narrative is what the White House does not want to have come
out.”
NBC
News is separately reporting that a decision on the desertion charge is
imminent and may come within a week,
according to an anonymous senior defense officials.
Bergdahl was recovered in Afghanistan by U.S. troops in a
controversial swap for five Taliban officials on May 31. He had disappeared
from his small patrol base on June 30, 2009, under a cloud of suspicion and
fear as it became clear he been captured by militants.
The Army in June launched a new investigation into
Bergdahl’s disappearance and capture, amid a raft of accusations from his
fellow soldiers that he walked away from his unit on the battlefield and
questions about whether the Obama administration handled the prisoner swap legally.
On Jan. 11, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.
Martin Dempsey, said he anticipated a decision “fairly soon” on whether the
Army would court martial Bergdahl for deserting his post.
“In White House terms, not charging Bergdahl means that he
was indeed worth the trade for the Taliban Five. But charging him on any level
means that releasing the five Taliban was an error of monstrous proportions,
one the administration will never be able to explain away satisfactorily,” said
retired Lt. Col. Bill Cowen in a commentary written for the Fox News site.
Former Sgt. Matt Vierkant told CNN last year, “Bowe Bergdahl
deserted during a time of war, and his fellow Americans lost their lives
searching for him.”
“I don’t understand,” Vierkant added, “why we’re trading
prisoners at Gitmo for somebody who deserted during a time of war, which is an
act of treason.”
A full 54
percent of Americans agreed in a June 2014 poll, saying Obama’s swap for Bergdahl amounted to providing aid
to terrorists – which violates federal law. And they said impeachment is
deserved.
In
June, WND reported an explosive charge emerged – that Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers had orders to shoot him on
sight as a deserter.
A number of damning charges against Bergdahl came from
soldiers who served with him. Some were posted on Facebook.
The soldiers wrote anonymously, saying the Pentagon had them
sign nondisclosure statements after Bergdahl disappeared from his post in
Afghanistan in 2009. Some said they were still on active duty.
WND
also reported a four-year-old claim by a Taliban
commander that Bergdahl wasn’t just a deserter but also a traitor who converted
to Islam and taught jihadi fighters how to make bombs and ambush convoys.
Afghan intelligence officials believed Bergdahl was
“cooperating with the Taliban” and advising fighters at a base in Pakistan.
A comment posted by a soldier who says he served with
Bergdahl confirmed the charge.
“What you have is pretty well spot on,” the post says. “All
I know is that our orders were kill on contact and then we came back and it was
covered up. I’ve personally been threatened a few times that discussing it in
half the detail you already have was considered an act of treason.”
Another post made clear the Army considered Berdahl not just
a deserter but a defector.
“My battalion took over the AO from 25th. The story of
Bergdahl being a defector is exactly what was briefed to us and I also read the
debrief report about the situation. The story is 100% correct. I’ve personally
been on a few missions following up on Bergdahls location but we never found
anything. I currently live an hour away from his family’s location. Hailey,
Idaho, is a resort town frequented by movie stars etc. They typically side with
the anti-war side of politics in that area and is a perfect spot for him to
live in solitude.”
Another
post that said Bergdahl deserted came from someone who said he was directly
involved in the attempted recovery of Bergdahl.
“Here is what I know, not from hearsay, but because I was
there. Bergdahl became a sympathizer, walked off his post to seek out the
Taliban in order to join their ranks, to help and live with them. In exchange
for his release, the United States released the following 5 known Taliban;
Khairullah Khairkhwa, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mullah Norullah Noori, Abdul Haq
Wasiq, Mohammed Nabi who were immediately welcomed back into the Taliban
network. The Taliban are currently seeking the release of additional prisoners,
but will not state specifics. Now that they have the blue print on how to accomplish
this by simply capturing an American soldier and with the troop number drawing
down to 9,800+, I can only hope our service men and women keep their heads on a
swivel.”
Source:http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/report-bergdahl-to-be-charged-with-desertion/
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