NYT: Bergdahl left a note saying that he was deserting

Hotair ^

[chessplayer]

I assume this has been reported before but if, like me, you’re coming to the story only recently, it’s big news. Apparently, the military had — and, maybe, has — hard evidence from the man himself that he went AWOL deliberately.

Which would be worse: If Obama didn’t know about the note before making the swap, or if he did know and went ahead with it anyway?

Sometime after midnight on June 30, 2009, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl left behind a note in his tent saying he had become disillusioned with the Army, did not support the American mission in Afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life. He slipped off the remote military outpost in Paktika Province on the border with Pakistan and took with him a soft backpack, water, knives, a notebook and writing materials, but left behind his body armor and weapons — startling, given the hostile environment around his outpost…

Sergeant Bergdahl slipped away from his outpost, the former senior officer said, possibly on foot but more likely hiding in a contractor’s vehicle. “He didn’t walk out the gate through a checkpoint, and there was no evidence he breached the perimeter wire and left that way,” the ex-officer said…

Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said that there was a larger matter at play: The American military does not leave soldiers behind. “When you’re in the Navy, and you go overboard, it doesn’t matter if you were pushed, fell or jumped,” he said. “We’re going to turn the ship around and pick you up.”

[The_Republic_Of_Maine]

"I assume this has been reported before but if, like me, you’re coming to the story only recently, it’s big news. Apparently, the military had — and, maybe, has — hard evidence from the man himself that he went AWOL deliberately. "

AWOL is in peace time, in war time or in a war zone it is desertion. The difference is that AWOL is a few days in the brig or restriction to base, desertion is line up against a wall and shot.

Well maybe those are exaggerations or the extremes at either end, but the difference is HUGE.

[blueunicorn6]

And if Bergdahl was 100 meters outside the perimeter, they would go get him. That doesn’t mean we should trade international murderers for him.

Admiral Popeye has been smoking seaweed.

[GOPJ]

Adm Kirby's example is rather lame...in that one doesn't desert by jumping overboard..

Ding, ding, ding - we have a thread winnah!!!!

[Sarah Barracuda]

The terrorist has been in the white House since Jan 2009, problem is we had millions of morons who had no problem voting for him not just once but TWICE..people just refuse to wake up because they are getting their freebies from the Govt, they don’t realize that Obama is single handily destroying this country

[epluribus_2]

All the calls have been made, faxes sent, coverup stories are being heard across the land. Expect the story to wither and due like yesterday’s tulips. Feel better now. No go tell someone about signing up for Obamacare.

[TigersEye]

Adm Kirby's example is rather lame...in that one doesn't desert by jumping overboard..

It was the first thing I thought of. So sue me!

[USNBandit]

We had a sailor jump ship in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand. He went over the side with a life preserver, a garment bag and a bag of sodas and candy bars. He wasn’t the smartest guy in the world, in fact he was being processed for an admin discharge on a medical (excessively low intelligence not suitable for military service).

[DB]

Susan Rice should become the White House spokeswoman... I guess she already has...

[Bluestocking]

Now we know why Obama didn’t consult Congress before making the five-Guantanamo-terrorists-for-Bowe-Bergdahl deal, even though it was against the law for him not to do so — because he KNEW Sgt. Bergdahl was a deserter and that, if consulted, Congress would have checked with the Pentagon and found out his deserter status and blocked the deal before it could have gone through, such as by leaking this abomination to the media.

In fact, even Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid would probably have opposed the deal if they’d known about it, since they’d be concerned that freeing a deserter would create another serious scandal for Obama that would reflect badly on the entire Democratic party during an election year.

[PieterCasparzen]

Why is he not under arrest?

Because are government (for a long time) has been controlled by two parties which are both filled with minions of new world order, i.e., criminals.

[Jim Noble]

This is starting to look like it is going to backfire on Obama for real...

Watch Chris Matthews and Lanny Davis.

I can almost hear the rumble of Team Clinton's engines revving up...

[The Duke]

I sounds like you’ve got a nice little “Pelican Brief” there!