The 10 Most Stunning Revelations Surrounding the Bergdahl Fiasco

In my pathetic and desperate attempt to mimic popular websites, I'm now resorting to BuzzFeed-style Top 10 lists.

10. White House Overrode Internal Objections To Taliban Prisoner Release
"To pull off the prisoner swap of five Taliban leaders for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the White House overrode an existing interagency process charged with debating the transfer of Guantanamo Bay prisoners and dismissed long-standing Pentagon and intelligence community concerns based on Top Secret intelligence about the dangers of releasing the five men, sources familiar with the debate tell TIME."

9. Bergdahl Never Listed By Pentagon As Prisoner Of War
"In his five years of captivity, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was never listed by the Pentagon as a prisoner of war... After disappearing in eastern Afghanistan in June 2009, Bergdahl was listed by the Pentagon on July 1, 2009, as “duty status whereabouts unknown.” Two days later his status was changed to “missing/captured,” and it did not change again prior to his release."

8. Bergdahl Deserted, Leaving Note Saying He Was Disillusioned with the Army
"Sometime after midnight on June 30, 2009, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl left behind a note in his tent saying he had become disillusioned with the Army, did not support the American mission in Afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life. He slipped off the remote military outpost in Paktika Province on the border with Pakistan and took with him a soft backpack, water, knives, a notebook and writing materials, but left behind his body armor and weapons — startling, given the hostile environment around his outpost."

7. Pentagon knew Bergdahl’s whereabouts but didn’t risk rescue for ‘deserter’
"The Pentagon on several occasions had ground-level intelligence on where ArmySgt. Bowe Bergdahl was being held captive at various times — down to how many gunmen were guarding him — but special operations commanders repeatedly shelved rescue missions because they didn’t want to risk casualties for a man they believed to be a “deserter,” sources familiar with the mission plans said."

6. Susan Rice Claims Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction”
"Did the White House send Susan Rice out on another Sunday talk show fool’s errand? Just as with the Benghazi attack, Barack Obama’s national-security adviser went out on a Sunday to discuss a burgeoning controversy, and perhaps without a full set of the facts in front of her. When questioned by George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week, Rice tried to parry the question about Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s initial disappearance, which some of his fellow soldiers believed to be an act of desertion that cost more American lives. Rice insisted that Bergdahl had served with “honor and distinction,” a claim that will be tested in the coming days and weeks..."

5. Hours Later, White House Backpedals After Claiming Bergdahl ‘Served With Honor And Distinction’
"Deputy national security advisor Tony Blinken struggled to cover for his boss Susan Rice on Tuesday, backtracking from her contention that Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl “served with honor and distinction” in the face of tough questions from NBC reporter Andrea Mitchell... Mitchell confronted Blinken over Rice’s Sunday claim that Bergdahl “served with honor and distinction” — an assertion almost immediately disproven by scores of Bergdahl’s comrades and official Pentagon reports, which show the soldier abandoned his post and may have been seeking to join the Taliban."

4. Bowe Bergdahl Probably Won't Be Court Martialed For Desertion
"As former Judge Advocate General lawyer and South Texas College of Law professor Geoffrey Corn told Business Insider, in the U.S. military, a conviction for desertion requires very narrow criteria to be met. The prosecutor would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bergdahl "quit his unit with an intent to remain absent permanently — and he had to have that specific intent," Corn explained.

3. Bergdahl could end up with five years back pay
"Corn believes that it would be difficult to prove either of these in Bergdahl's case. The Pentagon has never considered him a deserter, and didn't removed him from the army's roster. "The military has to process paperwork so that you can't get back pay and leave and so that the unit can get a replacement," Corn says of the bureaucratic process of designating a soldier a deserter. "According to the Pentagon there's no evidence he was ever dropped from the rolls.""

2. Hillary Clinton Supports Release of Gitmo Terror Leaders

"President Obama defended his decision to trade five Guantanamo Bay inmates for Bergdahl during a press conference in Poland on Monday, saying the US had an obligation not to leave any of its military personnel behind ... However he admitted the freed prisoners could now 'return to activities that are detrimental to us' ... Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton said on Monday that Obama's decision was both 'tough' and justified."

1. Obama: 5 freed Taliban commanders could "absolutely" rejoin terror cells
"Obama said there is “absolutely” a chance that the five Guantanamo detainees released in a prisoner swap with the Taliban will return to terrorism. He also compared the decision to that of other past wartime presidents....“Is there the possibility of some of them trying to return to activities that are detrimental to us? Absolutely,” Obama continued. “That’s been true of all the prisoners that were released from Guantanamo. There’s a certain recidivism rate that takes place. I wouldn’t be doing it if I thought that it was contrary to American national security.”"


Hat tip: Michael M. (not the fat climate grifter).