Nov. 4, 2017
Peter Bergen wrote for CNN about the fairness of the outcome in the trial of Bowe Bergdahl:
The case of Bowe Bergdahl, who deserted his US military outpost in eastern Afghanistan in 2009 and was then captured by the Taliban, stirs strong emotions.
For many in the military, the fact that Bergdahl deserted and subsequently endangered the lives and the limbs of a number of soldiers who went hunting for him meant that he should have faced a lengthy prison sentence.
At Berghdahl's trial, prosecution witness Shannon Allen said her husband Mark was severely wounded on a mission to find Bergdahl and is today largely paralyzed and unable to care for himself.
The intensity of the anger directed at Bergdahl by some in the military is amplified by the fact that his freedom was gained by a 2014 prisoner swap for five mid- and high-level Taliban leaders who had been imprisoned at Guantanamo.