“Deserter” might be the appropriate label for SGT Bowe Bergdahl, America’s only prisoner of war until he was released last week in a controversial swap for five Taliban detainees. It is an ugly word, ripe and sticky with betrayal. It means a soldier sworn to defend his nation has left his post without permission, and with no plan to return. He has abandoned his comrades. It is worse than away with out leave, for AWOL soldiers come back and face the appropriate disciplinary action. It leaves you short, just short, of being a traitor. But it is just as likely that Bergdahl was the one deserted by an Army that could not keep up with the mental health needs of deployed force.
Everyone seems to have an opinion about the circumstances that led to SGT Bowe Bergdahl’s being taken prisoner by the Taliban. This is especially of those on the Far Right, who are absolutely, resolutely, incontrovertibly convinced that Bergdahl’s a traitor (after five years of demanding the President do everything in his power to bring Bergdahl home) and should have been left with his captors. How could he NOT be a traitor? He deserted his post. Even worse, his father grew a beard and now looks like a member of the Taliban himself. If that isn’t clear and convincing truth…except that Conservatives LOVE the same beard on the stars of Duck Dynasty.
What double standard??
Here’s the thing, though: Conservatives may have convinced themselves that Bergdahl is a deserter and a traitor. They may have already smeared his name and reputation beyond repair. What they haven’t done is produced iron-clad proof that he betrayed his country and his fellow soldiers. To Conservatives, Bowe Bergdahl isn’t someone’s son, and up until now I’d always thought we don’t leave Americans behind in a war zone. All Bergdahl is to them is a means to an end, a way to score some cheap political points and embarrass a President they despise beyond all reason and rationality. In the eyes and minds of Conservatives, Bergdahl’s already lost his humanity.
But what if Bergdahl was deserted by the U.S. Army? What if Bergdahl, who’d become disillusioned with the war, had manifested mental health issues previous to his “desertion?” Despite the Far Right’s conviction that Bergdahl’s a traitor and worthy only of execution, only two things are known to be true:
- Bergdahl left his base alone and without permission and walked into enemy territory. Yes, he was AWOL.
- Bergdahl had a history of going AWOL.
Clearly, something wasn’t right with SGT Bowe Bergdahl…and yet the Army took no action to address the precarious state of his mental health, which seems to have been imperiled for quite some time. Why did the Army not address Bergdahl’s issues, when one out of five soldiers in theater have been demonstrated to manifest mental health problems? Why does the Army continue to ignore the needs of soldiers manifesting mental health concerns in a war zone? Perhaps if Bergdahl had been given the help he needed, Conservatives would be looking for someone else to despise as unworthy of the continued fellowship of Americans.
The question no one seems willing to ask goes directly to the heart of the problem: WHO DESERTED WHO?
