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In July, numerous veterans who served in Afghanistan and participated in the search for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl were shocked by the news that the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia had overturned Bergdahl’s 2017 court-martial convictions. This action not only reopened old wounds from a forgotten war but also shed light on the severe injustices surrounding Bergdahl’s remarkably lenient sentencing.
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U.S. forces in the region were directed to divert their efforts from defeating the Taliban to search for Bergdahl. I led a task force of Green Berets, and alongside every unit in the eastern half of the country, we tirelessly searched for Bergdahl, but to no avail.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives for a hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Jan. 12, 2016. A federal judge on Tuesday vacated the military conviction of Bergdahl, who had pleaded guilty to desertion after he left his post and was captured in Afghanistan and tortured by the Taliban.
(AP)
Instead, an estimated eight Americans were killed and dozens severely wounded in their attempts to locate the deserter in militant-controlled areas.
In 2014, Obama announced the release of Bergdahl by exchanging five senior Taliban members from Guantanamo Bay. I was infuriated by the Rose Garden ceremony where Obama hailed this imbalanced and perilous deal for a man who had clearly betrayed his country and fellow soldiers. Then-national security adviser Susan Rice even claimed that Bergdahl had served with “honor and distinction.”
Significantly, four of the five Taliban prisoners exchanged went on to become senior officials in Afghanistan’s Taliban regime. I was the first veteran to publicly declare that Bergdahl was not a hero but a traitor.
Embarrassingly for the Obama administration, Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior in the face of the enemy but received only a demotion and a fine, escaping any jail time.
This punishment was far from sufficient for a man who betrayed his country, resulting in the deaths and injuries of U.S. service members. While Bergdahl endured brutal treatment by the Taliban when they no longer needed him, he ultimately walked out of the courtroom a free man, unlike those who lost their lives or suffered as a consequence of his actions.
Unfortunately, Bergdahl continues to evade true justice.
Bergdahl no longer carries a criminal record, despite pleading guilty to the charges. The decision to vacate his conviction and sentence was made due to a legal technicality involving the military judge, who was being considered for a position as an immigration judge in the Trump administration.
Furthermore, it defies logic for the appellate judge to claim that the military judge displayed undue bias when Bergdahl received no jail time. Ironically, the military judge faced significant public criticism, including from me, for issuing such a lenient sentence.
President Barack Obama watches as Bob Bergdahl and Jami Bergdahl discuss the release of their son, Bowe Bergdahl.
(Reuters)
The American people should not accept this decision, and the veteran community deserves better.
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In late July, I, along with four other veteran lawmakers, sent a letter urging Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Attorney General Merrick Garland to reconsider the possibility of a new trial for Bergdahl.
We are concerned that the Biden administration’s political leadership, many of whom served in the Obama administration, will lack the motivation to pursue a new trial, as it would dredge up the embarrassing mistakes of 2014. Additionally, they may have a vested interest in letting the case fade away as we enter an election year.
For a man who betrayed our country by walking into the arms of the enemy and whose actions resulted in the deaths and injuries of U.S. service members, this didn’t go far enough.
However, the harsh reality remains that Bergdahl’s desertion had a heavy toll, costing American lives, disrupting critical military operations, and leading to the release of five dangerous Taliban leaders
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