United States Army solider, Bowe Bergdhal, 29, will face a court-martial on desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
Previous recommendations of a milder hearing such as an intermediate
tribunal, or “special court-martial”, have been rejected. These recommendations would have protected
Bergdhal so that he wouldn’t face more than one year of imprisonment upon
conviction. Instead, he will face a
general court-martial, which doesn’t provide this level of cushion. If Bergdhal is found guilty, he could face a
life sentence.
Bergdhal left his outpost in Afghanistan in 2009, which led
to him being a Taliban captive for nearly five years. President Obama traded five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Bergdhal.
This was a highly controversial decision that was scrutinized by the
public and many in the military. Members
of Bergdhal’s platoon stated that he didn’t “lag behind on a patrol” but simply
fled his post on foot. This type of betrayal
made many military personnel deeply opposed to the trade-off simply on
principle.
However, President Obama felt the necessity to follow through
on the prisoner exchange. This was also
negotiated without informing Congress, which broke a law requiring a thirty-day notice on transferring anyone from Guantanamo Bay. President Obama has been adamant about
shutting down Guantanamo Bay in his presidency and many pointed to this as a
political move to that end. This
controversy was a demonstration of civil-military tensions between the
political agenda of executive authority and the core beliefs of the
military. In addition, many in the
military and intelligence community cited concerns about releasing these
Taliban prisoners back into circulation.
Bergdhal has claimed that he left his post in search for a
larger command to express concerns about poor leadership and living conditions. He asserted that not long after he walked
away from his post he considered returning.
Before doing so, he planned on gathering intelligence from the enemy to
ameliorate concerns about his motives. The
validity of his defense and his fate will now be decided through a general
court-martial.
i
d. SAIIA Occasion Paper No. 187, May 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment