New York Times: Classified Military Report Does Not Conclude Bergdahl Deserted

Complicated
US News • Views: 29,043

The latest New York Times article on Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl contains descriptions of a classified military report on the investigation into his disappearance, and it seriously undercuts some important pieces of the right wing smear campaign: Bergdahl Walked Away Before, Military Report Says.

The headline makes the first point: Bergdahl reportedly had walked away from his post on two previous occasions, and then returned — and his unit never reported or reprimanded him for it. This strongly argues against deliberate desertion, and in fact according to the Times the classified report does not conclude that Bergdahl deserted — although it does conclude that his unit had severe disciplinary problems.

And that letter Bergdahl was supposed to have left behind when he walked off, saying he was deserting because he was disillusioned with the mission? The military’s report apparently makes no mention of such a letter.

But the report is said to contain no mention of Sergeant Bergdahl having left behind a letter in his tent that explicitly said he was deserting and explained his disillusionment, as a retired senior military official briefed on the investigation at the time told The New York Times this week.

What’s more, the report apparently pictures Bergdahl as basically a good soldier — and includes quotes praising him from some of the same soldiers you now see on cable news calling him a deserter (or worse).

And it has no mention of Bergdahl trying to get in touch with someone in the Taliban who spoke English.

Its portrayal of him as a soldier is said to be positive, with quotes from both commanders and squadmates — apparently including some of the men now criticizing him — describing him as punctual, always in the correct uniform and asking good questions. It quotes colleagues as saying that he expressed some boredom and frustration that they were not “kicking down doors” more to go after insurgents who were destroying schools.

The report is also said to contain no mention of any alleged intercepts of radio or cellphone traffic indicating that Sergeant Bergdahl was asking villagers if anyone spoke English and trying to get in touch with the Taliban, as two former squadmates told CNN this week in separate interviews that they remembered hearing about from a translator who received the report.

Has the Republican Party overreached massively with this gigantic smear campaign? Stay tuned.

Also see

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal
Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh
Detroit Local Powers First EV Charging Road in North America The road, about a mile from Local 58's hall, uses rubber-coated copper inductive-charging coils buried under the asphalt that transfer power to a receiver pad attached to a car's underbelly, much like how a phone can be charged wirelessly. ...
Backwoods Sleuth
3 days ago
Views: 186 • Comments: 1 • Rating: 4