Finally today, the Army clarified the Bergdahl situation, he will be charged with two crimes after leaving his unit in Afghanistan.
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KING: Sergeant Bergdahl is charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with one count of Article 85, desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty; and one count of Article 99, misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command unit or place.
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O'REILLY: It is the second charge endangering the safety of his fellow infantry men that is the most serious. If convicted, Sergeant Bergdahl could get life in a military prison. The first count of desertion carries the maximum penalty of five years in prison. Both charges, if there is a conviction, mean a reduction of rank, forfeiture of pay which in Bergdahl's case could be more than $300,000.
The Army's decision today is an acute embarrassment for President Obama. You may remember last May the President met with the sergeant's parents at the White House trumpeting the deal he made to secure Bergdahl's release from the Taliban who had held him for nearly five years.
The prisoner swap was 5 to 1. Five top Taliban commanders for Bowe Bergdahl. Those terrorists will soon be released from supervision in Qatar. Free to return to the Afghan battlefield, free to kill Americans if they can.
From the beginning, many Americans thought the deal was bad for the country. But the President and his acolytes disagreed.
SUSAN RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Certainly anybody who's been held in those conditions in captivity for five years has paid an extraordinary price. But that is really not the point. The point is that he's back. He is going to be safely reunited with his family. He served the United States with honor and distinction.
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O'REILLY: Another embarrassment for Ambassador Rice. Because, according to the Army, Bowe Bergdahl did not serve with honor and distinction and instead, may spend the rest of his life in prison.
So if you are a supporter of the Obama administration, what do you say now? What do you say? It is long past time for Americans to stop the ideological nonsense and see things for what they really are. Mr. Obama has made very serious mistakes in foreign policy. The entire war on terror is now going against the good guys, us, and the other anti-jihadist nations.
The mistakes must stop. The President must begin to see the terror threat for what it really is and aggressively try to defeat it. Leaving U.S. Troops in Afghanistan for the time being is a smart move. Negotiating a tough nuke deal with Iran would send a very strong signal and actually unite the country. So I really hope Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry will achieve that and present it to congress.
In the meantime, Bowe Bergdahl is a man in crisis and the Obama administration totally botched the whole thing. And that's “The Memo”.
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