Remember the U.S. soldiers who came forward to say, "We know Bowe Bergdahl and no, he did not serve his country 'with honor and distinction,' as Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice claimed."
Turns out the soldiers were right. Sgt. Bergdahl, whose release from captivity by the Taliban was announced by a triumphant President Obama in a Rose Garden ceremony in 2014, pled guilty yesterday to desertion in a military court. He could face up to life in prison. Sentencing will be later this month. The maximum sentence for desertion is five years, but Bergdahl also pled guilty to misbehavior before the enemy, which carries a maximum of life.
Five high-ranking terrorists were released from Gitmo to get Bergdahl back to the U.S. The exchange may have been a step in achieving former President Obama's cherished goal of emptying Gitmo. (Do you think we can get away with exchanging seven terrorists for Sgt. Bergdahl?)
The administration presented bringing Bergdahl home as a major achievement. It attempted to marginalize the soldiers who knew Bergdahl and came forward to tell what they knew, which, as it happens, was closer to the truth than the fairy tale the administration spun.
Many Americans might see the justification for swapping terrorists for oneof our soldiers, even one strongly suspected of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. But why the constant attempt on the part of the Obama administration to portray Bergdahl as a hero?
Berdgahl's fate was in the hands of the military as soon as he returned to the U.S., and most of us had the faith in the military to act with honor do justice, despite the Obama administration's drumbeat of praise.
Bergdahl emailed his parents that he was "ashamed to be an American” and that “the title of US soldier is the lie of fools” before leaving his post.
The remaining mystery is why did the Obama administration try to make us think Bergdah served honorably, when it was likely from the start that he was a deserter.