Leave no one behind

In the wake of the Army decision to charge Sergeant Bergdahl with desertion, the electronic spectrum is filled with comments from the left, right, and center.  For some months, the nation awaited the decision.  With that decision now in hand, the military justice process will proceed.  And voices will be raised on both sides of the matter, as we already see occurring.

In the beginning, Susan Rice (once more) put her foot in her mouth by declaring Bergdahl had "service with honor and distinction."  Just as her earlier comments about the attack in Benghazi were debunked, so have her declarations about Begdahl.  In compensation, the political narrative is that we don't leave anyone behind.

Candidly, I agree wholeheartedly with this policy.  We have too many people unaccounted for from Vietnam, including three Marines left behind on Koh Tang Island in May 1975, the recognized final battle of the Vietnam War.  We owe it to our men and women in uniform to bring them home.  However, at what cost?

In the Bergdahl case, the decision to trade five Taliban leaders for one soldier was obviously a political one.  As such, the wrong one.  No amount of fluffy wording from the White House and State Department spokespersons can ever change the fact that the soldier deserted in a combat zone.  And releasing even one member of the Taliban for him would be the wrong decision.  We are still at war and for POTUS to deliberately release five enemy combatants was wrong, straight and simple.

Yes, we must have a policy of leaving no one behind.  But that policy must be guided and tempered by common sense and judgment, which was not the case.

To those who are now complaining that Bergdahl shouldn't be tried because he was possibly mistreated and held captive, I offer a resounding TOUGH CRAP.  He decided to leave his unit while in a combat zone.  He decided to seek out the Taliban.  That he allegedly subsequently suffered is a consequence of his actions.  Just as Marine Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun was found guilty of desertion, so will be Sergeant Bergdahl.