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Bowe Bergdahl enters no plea during hearing
General court martial proceedings for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl expected to get underway on Fort Bragg on Tuesday.
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Bergdahl, 29, of Hailey, Idaho, walked off his post in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province on June 30, 2009.
A military judge on Tuesday granted Bergdahl permission to defer his plea and a decision on whether a military jury or a judge alone will hear his case.
His decision to voluntarily leave the base has raised questions about what happened that night, and eventually led to Bergdahl being formally charged with “desertion and misbehavior before the enemy” earlier this year.
Bergdahl, who was wearing his dark blue US Army dress uniform and medals, was briefed on his rights and replied with a soft “Yes sir” when asked whether he understood. In October, Bergdahl’s lawyer said no jail time had been recommended.
Bergdahl walked away from his unit in Afghanistan in 2009, saying he wanted to draw attention to problems within the military.
Nevertheless, the military worked hard to find him, and he was eventually released to U.S. special forces in May previous year after the United States released five Afghan detainees from Guantanamo Bay. The move touched off a firestorm of criticism, with some in Congress accusing President Barack Obama of jeopardizing the safety of a nation with the exchange.
“The convening authority did not follow the advice of the hearing officer who heard the witnesses”, said Bergdahl’s lawyer, Eugene Fidell, noting he “had hoped the case would not go in this direction”. He said he left in order to trigger an alert that would gain him an audience with senior military officials, where he could highlight issues he felt were putting his unit at danger.
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Troops were injured and killed looking for Bergdahl, Buetow said, and others in his platoon were in constant fear that Bergdahl would give up information – either voluntarily or via torture – that would endanger them. More video released by the Taliban shows the moment Bergdahl steps out of the back of a pickup truck, blinking as the sun hits his face.