“have you read the Rolling Stone piece on this guy?”
No, I must say I have not. Do you find Rolling Stone reliable? Serious question, not sarcastic. They are a very liberal outfit.
Personally I do not, but that is beside the point, as it appears the WH does. They did fire General McChrystal over comments made to that magazine, you may recall.
As to learning to speak Pashtu, the salient point is when that occurred.
There is far more to this then we are being told, but right now, I believe the guy was a deserter, and not worthy of the trade made.