Bowe Bergdahl

Personally, I would rather these 5 responsible for 1000's of innocent lives face trial in the US or {cough cough} UN. To release these tyrants back on Afghanistan will prove to be a costly mistake.

A trial in the US was pretty much out of the question.
The methods used during detention coupled with US efforts to ensure US people don't end up in the Hague too rule out the UN route.
That leaves three possible routes, or 4 if you include summary execution of prisoners without trial.
1. keep them in prison without trial for the rest of their lives.
2. pay another country a large amount of money to accept them for release(the usual method)
3. swap them for a US POW.

#3 seems the best deal on price.
The costly mistake was the manner of their imprisonment and the shortsighted attempts at ignoring all the relevant laws.

[August]

Originally Posted by Oberon

it's estimated that some 40,000 American troops deserted their posts during the Iraq war, and some 50,000 deserted during the Vietnam war.

Estimated by who? That figure has no basis in reality.

[HunterICX]

Since 2000, about 40,000 troops from all branches of the military have deserted, the Pentagon says

I guess it does

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by August

Estimated by who? That figure has no basis in reality.

According to the Pentagon, more than 5,500 military personnel deserted in 2003–2004, following the Iraq invasion and occupation.[29] The number had reached about 8,000 by the first quarter of 2006.[30] Another report stated that since 2000, about 40,000 troops from all branches of the military have deserted, also according to the Pentagon. More than half of these served in the US Army.[31] Almost all of these soldiers deserted within the USA. There has only been one reported case of a desertion in Iraq. The Army, Navy, and Air Force reported 7,978 desertions in 2001, compared with 3,456 in 2005. The Marine Corps showed 1,603 Marines in desertion status in 2001. That had declined to 148 by 2005.[30]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertion#Iraq_War

[Bilge_Rat]

According to the Pentagon, more than 5,500 military personnel deserted in 2003–2004, following the Iraq invasion and occupation.[29] The number had reached about 8,000 by the first quarter of 2006.[30] Another report stated that since 2000, about 40,000 troops from all branches of the military have deserted, also according to the Pentagon. More than half of these served in the US Army.[31] Almost all of these soldiers deserted within the USA. There has only been one reported case of a desertion in Iraq. The Army, Navy, and Air Force reported 7,978 desertions in 2001, compared with 3,456 in 2005. The Marine Corps showed 1,603 Marines in desertion status in 2001. That had declined to 148 by 2005.[30]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertion#United_States

Originally Posted by HunterICX

I guess it does

I'm afraid not
August is correct, Oberon stated "during the Iraq war".
Those figures would fit better if he wrote "during the Afghan war" but at both ends they fall partly outside the timeframe of the waste of time in Iraq.

[August]

Originally Posted by Oberon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertion#Iraq_War

Beware of using Wiki, I seem to remember some Brit guy saying that.

If you look at the referenced sources to that wiki article it's just some civilian media articles, no actual Pentagon report to back them up is listed. What they're probably doing is lumping awol soldiers in with actual deserters to inflate the numbers, not unlikely given the politics of the time. Just look at the dates of the articles referenced. I don't think Armistead advocates executing every young GI who comes back a day or three late from a weekend pass.

Originally Posted by August

Beware of using Wiki, I seem to remember some Brit guy saying that.

If you look at the referenced sources to that wiki article it's just some civilian media articles, no actual Pentagon report to back them up is listed. What they're probably doing is lumping awol soldiers in with actual deserters to inflate the numbers, not unlikely given the politics of the time. Just look at the dates of the articles referenced. I don't think Armistead advocates executing every young GI who comes back a day or three late from a weekend pass.

What you need to do before you make such claims is explore the links.
When you get to the DoD supplied figures you will note that it only includes those that are administratively categorised as deserters.
You will also find it explains the difference between deserters and AWOL, why the cut off date for that categorisation is used for administrative purposes and how the military justice system shifts the burden of proof at that cut off date for any future trial.

Seems quite comprehensive really.

Beware of Wiki without checking the links, but beware of writing off wiki and rubbishing the links without exploring all the links.

[Wolferz]

http://news.msn.com/us/bergdahl-was-...ned-the-army-1

It seems that Sgt Bergdahl had problems even before he joined the army and at the time, the recruitment standards set the bar pretty low.

[Oberon]

Well, you need the manpower, and if people aren't joining up like they used to then you need to set the bar lower to get those that do who would otherwise be turned away.

Also, you guys make the mistake of hiring people instead of T-800s, people sometimes don't work as they're supposed to.

[Wolferz]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Well, you need the manpower, and if people aren't joining up like they used to then you need to set the bar lower to get those that do who would otherwise be turned away.

Also, you guys make the mistake of hiring people instead of T-800s, people sometimes don't work as they're supposed to.

I'll be back.

I'll be back.

Yes, but how many Taliban will have to be exchanged to bring you back?

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Tribesman

Yes, but how many Taliban will have to be exchanged to bring you back?

Where is Mohammad Con-al-din?

[TarJak]

Originally Posted by Tribesman

Yes, but how many Taliban will have to be exchanged to bring you back?

Only the one...

Originally Posted by Oberon

Where is Mohammad Con-al-din?

[Armistead]

Be interesting to see what all these letters say as Berg explains to family why he deserted his post...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...stan/10380147/

Anyway, I'm sure he'll be found mentally unfit now in the hospital so he can be excused and taken out of the public light.