SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Bowe Bergdahl, US Soldier Held by Taliban, Charged With Desertion
Exchanged for five US-held prisoners after five years in captivity, Bergdahl faces 'misbehavior before the enemy' charges and possible jail time
Mar 25, 2015
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was released from Taliban captivity in a prisoner swap last year has been charged with desertion, the U.S. military announced during a short press conference at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Wednesday.
Bergdahl, who went disappeared from his Army outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 and later ended up in the Taliban custory, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy under Articles 85 and 99 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, his lawyer, Eugene Fidell, told the Washington Post on Wednesday.
However, as an unnamed Defense Department official told the New York Times, the charges do not necessarily mean that Bergdahl will be tried or face jail time.
"Just being charged with desertion doesn't mean he's going to go to court-martial, there are a lot of more steps in the process," the official said.
Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009. Some questioned whether he had become disillusioned with the ongoing war and the U.S. military's occupation of Afghanistan. In a move that President Obama's critics have used against him, the White House held secret negotiations and then traded Bergdahl for five Taliban soldiers, held at the infamous offshore prison at Guantanamo Bay, in May of last year.
Military officials had several options on how to address Bergdahl's case, including dismissing him of all wrongdoing or charging him with being absent without leave (AWOL). Desertion was the most serious charge he faced.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was released from Taliban captivity in a prisoner swap last year has been charged with desertion, the U.S. military announced during a short press conference at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Wednesday.
Bergdahl, who went disappeared from his Army outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 and later ended up in the Taliban custory, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy under Articles 85 and 99 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, his lawyer, Eugene Fidell, told the Washington Post on Wednesday.
However, as an unnamed Defense Department official told the New York Times, the charges do not necessarily mean that Bergdahl will be tried or face jail time.
"Just being charged with desertion doesn't mean he's going to go to court-martial, there are a lot of more steps in the process," the official said.
Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009. Some questioned whether he had become disillusioned with the ongoing war and the U.S. military's occupation of Afghanistan. In a move that President Obama's critics have used against him, the White House held secret negotiations and then traded Bergdahl for five Taliban soldiers, held at the infamous offshore prison at Guantanamo Bay, in May of last year.
Military officials had several options on how to address Bergdahl's case, including dismissing him of all wrongdoing or charging him with being absent without leave (AWOL). Desertion was the most serious charge he faced.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was released from Taliban captivity in a prisoner swap last year has been charged with desertion, the U.S. military announced during a short press conference at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Wednesday.
Bergdahl, who went disappeared from his Army outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 and later ended up in the Taliban custory, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy under Articles 85 and 99 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, his lawyer, Eugene Fidell, told the Washington Post on Wednesday.
However, as an unnamed Defense Department official told the New York Times, the charges do not necessarily mean that Bergdahl will be tried or face jail time.
"Just being charged with desertion doesn't mean he's going to go to court-martial, there are a lot of more steps in the process," the official said.
Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009. Some questioned whether he had become disillusioned with the ongoing war and the U.S. military's occupation of Afghanistan. In a move that President Obama's critics have used against him, the White House held secret negotiations and then traded Bergdahl for five Taliban soldiers, held at the infamous offshore prison at Guantanamo Bay, in May of last year.
Military officials had several options on how to address Bergdahl's case, including dismissing him of all wrongdoing or charging him with being absent without leave (AWOL). Desertion was the most serious charge he faced.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.