As expected, Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl entered a plea of guilty to both desertion and to the top count on his indictment, misbehavior before the enemy. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced.
#BoweBergdahl Pleads Guilty To Desertion, Misconduct https://t.co/utqKEFVHRU
— J Pickett (@FromFurrin) October 16, 2017
The sentencing phase begins on October 23 and the military judge will hear testimony from two former members of the military who were gravely wounded while searching for Berghdahl. These men will not testify:
Earlier today, ABC aired an interview with Bergdahl, It was sort of stunning. (The video embed code is not working, if you want to see the video click the last link.)
In the interview, which was filmed last year by British filmmaker Sean Langan, Bergdahl said it was ‘insulting’ that he’s been portrayed as a traitor.
The 31-year-old Idaho native offered no explanation for why he abandoned his Afghanistan outpost in 2009. But he says the narrative that he deserted his company to join the Taliban is false.
‘You know, it’s just insulting frankly,’ Bergdahl said. ‘It’s very insulting, the idea that they would think I did that.’
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‘We may as well go back to kangaroo courts and lynch mobs that got what they wanted,’ Bergdahl said. ‘The people who want to hang me, you’re never going to convince those people.’
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‘It was getting so bad that I was literally looking at myself, you know, looking at joints, looking my ribs and just going, “I’m gonna die here from sickness, or I can die escaping,”‘ Bergdahl said. ‘You know, it didn’t really matter.’
I feel sorry for the guy in a way. He was released from the Coast Guard during basic training but somehow was allowed to enlist in the Army. He is more of a pathetic figure than anything else and, but for the fact that better men were killed and injured while looking for him, I could be convinced to give him de minimis imprisonment and forget about him. But that is not the case. He deserted comrades in a combat zone. He caused five high value captives to be traded for his release. He cause at least six deaths. He has forfeited his right to live free.
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