Tuesday, June 3, 2014

US General: Freed Bergdahl May Face Investigation



US General: Freed Bergdahl May Face Investigation
Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.
Tuesday, 03 Jun 2014 12:32 PM
Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, recently released after five years as a captive of the Taliban, may still be disciplined if the army finds evidence of misconduct, the U.S. military's top officer said Tuesday.

General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was speaking after claims from members of Bergdahl's unit that he had been captured after abandoning his post.

The New York Times cited a former military official as saying Bergdahl slipped away from his base near the Afghan border with Pakistan, leaving a note saying he had become disillusioned with the army and the war and was going to start a new life.

"Our army's leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred," Dempsey said.

The general stressed that Bergdahl, who was taken as a private and promoted while in captivity, was innocent until proven guilty, and that the military would continue to care for him and his family.

"The questions about this particular soldier's conduct are separate from our effort to recover ANY US service member in enemy captivity," Dempsey wrote in his statement.

"This was likely the last, best opportunity to free him. As for the circumstances of his capture, when he is able to provide them, we'll learn the facts."

Bergdahl was released over the weekend in Afghanistan in a prisoner exchange for five high-level Taliban militants who had been held at the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

President Barack Obama has come under fire from Republicans and other critics who say the swap will encourage others to try to take American soldiers or diplomats hostage.

Obama's aides have defended the deal as an appropriate attempt to save the life of a captured soldier's whose health was believed to be deteriorating.

On Tuesday Obama defended his decision, saying his administration had consulted with Congress about that possibility "for some time."

But Obama brushed aside questions about the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's capture, saying the U.S. has an obligation to not leave its military personnel behind.

"Regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an American solider back if he's held in captivity," Obama said during a news conference in Poland. "We don't condition that."

On the Facebook page of his unit, the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, many posters slammed Bergdahl as a deserter who should be held accountable for his actions.

"Now he can stand trial for deserting his post," wrote Brandon Fall, USA Today reported.

Those who served with him are also raising questions. "Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down," Nathan Bradley Bethea, who said he served in Bergdahl's unit, wrote in the Daily Beast.

In an exclusive Newsmax interview Monday, he team leader who supervised Bergdahl said he had mixed feelings about his homecoming.

"I'm definitely happy for his family," Sgt. Evan Buetow said of Bergdahl in an interview with Newsmax TV's "America's Forum." "I mean, he's an American citizen; I'm happy that he's back and that we can hopefully get closure to this whole incident."

But Buetow, who now works in law enforcement, said that he's still mystified by his platoon-mate's decision to "walk away" from his post, his mission and his fellow troops into the grasp of the Afghan insurgents they were fighting.

"I just want to ask him why," said Buetow.

Buetow also echoed the charge made by other platoon members that Bergdahl's actions cost the lives of soldiers sent to search for him.

"So yes, as a direct result of him leaving, several soldiers died," said Buetow.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a measured defense Monday of the prisoner swap, noting that many of America's allies make similar deals.

The former secretary of state was asked about the exchange by the moderator at an event in a Denver suburb. Clinton said she did not second-guess people who make such tough decisions, but said the American tradition of caring for its citizens and soldiers was a "noble" one.

She also noted that countries like Israel have made similar swaps, citing that country's decision to exchange more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for one of its soldiers in 2011.

"This young man, whatever the circumstances, was an American citizen — is an American citizen — was serving in our military," Clinton said. "The idea that you really care for your own citizens and particularly those in uniform, I think is a very noble one."

Joint Chiefs of Staff
Martin E. Dempsey is the chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was the chief of staff for the U.S. Army.

Note: Joseph W. Ralston was the vice chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is an advisory board member for the Wheelchair Foundation, and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Mikhail Gorbachev is an advisory board member for the Wheelchair Foundation, was the general secretary for the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Colin L. Powell was the chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
James E. Cartwright was the vice chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a U.S. Marine Corps general, and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr. was the vice chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a U.S. Navy admiral, and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Marc Grossman was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a special representative for Afghanistan.
Richard C. Holbrooke was a special U.S. envoy for Afghanistan, and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Zalmay Khalilzad was the U.S. ambassador for Afghanistan, and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and Amnesty International.
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, a co-chair, national finance council at Ready for Hillary, the and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for Amnesty International, and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Amnesty International declared Guantanamo Bay prison the 'Gulag of our times' in 2005.
John R. Allen is a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), was a U.S. Marine Corps general, a commander for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and the supreme allied commander Europe nominee for NATO.
NATO is the overseer for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan is the NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Stanley A. McChrystal was the commanding officer for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, a U.S. Army general, and a staff director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
William A. Owens was the vice chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a U.S. Navy admiral, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a senior military assistant to the secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Guantanamo Bay prison is a Cuba-based detention camp for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Chuck Hagel is the secretary at the U.S. Department of Defense for the Barack Obama administration, and was the chairman for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Ivo H. Daalder is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a NATO U.S. permanent representative.
Wesley K. Clark is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), was a U.S. Army general, and a NATO supreme allied commander for Europe.
Norman W. Ray was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), a vice admiral for the U.S. Navy, and an assistant secretary general for NATO.
James L. Jones Jr. is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), was a U.S. Marine Corps general, and a NATO supreme allied commander for Europe.
Robert E. Hunter is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a NATO U.S. ambassador.
Andrew Goodpaster was the chairman for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a NATO supreme allied commander for Europe.
George A. Joulwan is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), was a U.S. Army general, and a NATO supreme allied commander for Europe.
Karl Eikenberry was a U.S. Army lieutenant general, a deputy chairman of military committee for NATO, and a U.S. ambassador, commander of combined forces for Afghanistan.
William E. Odom was an assistant chief of staff for intelligence for the U.S. Army, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute (think tank), and a director at the National Security Agency (NSA).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Hudson Institute (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Matthew G. Olsen was the general counsel for the National Security Agency (NSA), a director at the Guantanamo Review Task Force, and is a director at the National Counterterrorism Center.
National Counterterrorism Center is a division of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a U.S. government center for threat analysis for Terrorism, manages the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, and Terrorist Threat Integration Center was the predecessor agency.
John O. Brennan was the interim director at the National Counterterrorism Center, the founding director for the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, George J. Tenet’s chief of staff, and is the CIA director former assistant to the president for homeland security & counterterrorism at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for the Barack Obama administration.
George J. Tenet’s chief of staff was John O. Brennan, a director at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Judith A. Miscik was his executive assistant, and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee, and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Judith A. Miscik was George J. Tenet’s executive assistant, a director at the International Rescue Committee, the deputy director of intelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and is the president & vice chairman for Kissinger Associates, Inc.
Henry A. Kissinger is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, the founder of Kissinger Associates, Inc., a member of the Bohemian Club, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Henrietta Holsman Fore is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Belizean Grove.
Belizean_Grove is the equivalent to the male-only social group, the Bohemian Club.
Ann E. Dunwoody is a member of the Belizean Grove, a U.S. Army 4-star general, and the commander for the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, U.S. Army Materiel Command commanding general
June 2, 2010
Martin E. Dempsey was the chief of staff for the U.S. Army, and is the chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.




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