A new report published by Catherine Herridge of Fox News indicates that four of Bowe Bergdahl’s former platoon mates told the President’s top military adviser that the man who would eventually be exchanged for five top-ranking terrorist commanders, walked off base and deserted his brothers-in-arms back in 2009.
Worse, according to those same individuals, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the time admitted that “Yes, we know all the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl walking away from the OP (outpost).”
The report makes the administration’s decision to knowingly trade violent terrorists captured on the battlefield for a lone Army deserter, rather puzzling to say the least.
Via Fox News:
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl walked away from his base in Afghanistan June 30, 2009, and by December of that same year, the president’s principal military adviser, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, knew those details, according to three of Bergdahl’s platoon mates who spoke to Fox News.
“I asked him (Mullen) if he knew about Bergdahl and that he deserted and he (Mullen) told me that he knew of the circumstances surrounding his walking off,” former Sgt. Matt Vierkant told Fox,”(and) that they were developing leads and following leads, trying to do everything they could to get him back.”
…
“He sat down with all the lower enlisted guys and the team leaders and basically he said, ‘Hey, what do you want to know…You got any questions? He’s like, I’m an open book. Let’s just have a little question and answer session,” Buetow explained.
“So Matt asked him, you know Bergdahl deserted, what’s going on with that? And Admiral Mullen said, ‘Yes, we know all the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl walking away from the OP (outpost) and we’re still working on getting him back, figuring out where he is and kind of figuring out that whole situation.’”
Watch Catherine Herridge’s interview with Bill O’Reilly regarding the story…
O’Reilly said, “It begs the question, why would the President of the United States trade five top Taliban commanders who within two weeks will be back on the battlefield – I guarantee you, fighting Americans – for a deserter when he knew he was a deserter?”
Bergdahl will be in court July 8th to answer charges of desertion at a hearing being held at the Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.
Perhaps our readers could answer O’Reilly’s question – Why would the Obama administration make this trade, and praise the return of Bergdahl knowing full well he was a deserter?
