# Why was/is the Army silent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 2, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804 "2014-06-02T02:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/21 "2014-06-03T13:44:21Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Here’s the thing. From the outside this backlash might seem to be sudden and unwarranted. Probably politically motivated. For those of us in the Army this is anything but sudden. I have been hearing from those involved about his desertion for 5 years. This was no swiftboating (or its the slowest swiftboat I have ever seen). This is not making up stories for political gain. We are talking about soldiers who bled and died to find him. Now they are afraid that he will be treated like a hero and a PR stunt. Just because most of the public was unaware of the circumstances before a few days ago does not mean it was secret. These are not the “wrong people” (I believe you are implying politicians with an agenda) these are his fellow soldiers. > > In case you are wondering I have no first hand knowledge. I got back from Iraq about a month prior to his capture. I was not in Afghanistan. But I have spoken to several with first hand knowledge. I believe them. This all may be reasonable. If he was a deserter, he should be tried and should not be treated like a hero. But such accusations shouldn’t (and thankfully, didn’t) have anything to do with whether we make efforts to recover him. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/22 "2014-06-03T13:45:52Z")
I think Obama did the right thing getting him back. I also think there should be an inquiry and, if need be, a trial. I also think that if he deserted he should be shot. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/23 "2014-06-03T13:50:49Z")
This morning CNN said the Army said they had an open case on desertion/defection, but that they wouldn’t state any conclusions without interviewing Bergdahl. Seems fair. It may or may not be worth noting the [fark thread](http://www.fark.com/comments/8283571/Former-POW-Bowe-Bergdahl-may-be-a-deserter-may-may-not-be-a-seekret-mooslem?cpp=1) in which a random person debunks the idea that anyone died trying to get Bergdahl back. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/24 "2014-06-03T14:09:15Z")
> [@LibrarySpy](#): > > It may or may not be worth noting the [fark thread](http://www.fark.com/comments/8283571/Former-POW-Bowe-Bergdahl-may-be-a-deserter-may-may-not-be-a-seekret-mooslem?cpp=1) in which a random person debunks the idea that anyone died trying to get Bergdahl back. It does nothing of the sort. Brief write ups about their deaths will not mention Bergdahl. That’s all the armchair sleuth could come up with. However those who were in the unit will have first hand knowledge of what their briefings and missions were. The entire thrust of the mission in that area shifted because of Bergdahl. Would others have died if he never went over? Possibly. Impossible to tell. I trust those on the ground when they said their mission changed and fighting intensified. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/25 "2014-06-03T14:17:00Z")
Why must everything be tried in the court of public opinion and media these days? The military has procedures in place for dealing with stuff like this. Let them deal with it. Why this insatiable public demand to know every little detail of every thing that happens in the world, no matter how irrelevant to their own lives? ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/26 "2014-06-03T14:20:29Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Why must everything be tried in the court of public opinion and media these days? The military has procedures in place for dealing with stuff like this. Let them deal with it. Why this insatiable public demand to know every little detail of every thing that happens in the world, no matter how irrelevant to their own lives? [What does being bored actually feel like?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=724915) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/27 "2014-06-03T14:30:08Z")
It seems that Susan Rice just loves to jump the gun and put her foot in her mouth. What with her statement to the press that Bergdahl “served the United States with honor and distinction”. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/28 "2014-06-03T14:33:52Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Why must everything be tried in the court of public opinion and media these days? The military has procedures in place for dealing with stuff like this. Let them deal with it. Why this insatiable public demand to know every little detail of every thing that happens in the world, no matter how irrelevant to their own lives? 1. There is no new information about the plane in the ocean. You have to fill up airtime somehow. 2. Press conferences and photo-ops touting how great this is when there are plenty of soldiers and vets that have been pissed off for 5 years about the subject. And now someone will listen. IMHO if the administration had issued a simple press release about it with the statement that he was being debriefed as to the circumstances of his capture this would not have legs. This administration seems to be extraordinarily tone deaf at times and they seem to be caught off guard about the controversy. Its as if no one looked into the background of the case. It was treated like he was heroically captured in battle. The president’s press conference made it seem like no one informed him of the circumstances. Now they have to backtrack. The Rolling Stone article has been cited many times. Its not like this was a secret lurking in the shadows of the internet. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804/29 "2014-06-03T14:35:08Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > It seems that Susan Rice just loves to jump the gun and put her foot in her mouth. What with her statement to the press that Bergdahl “served the United States with honor and distinction”. She’s [not the](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sarah-palin-criticizes-bergdahl)[only one](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/conservatives-criticize-bowe-bergdahl-dad-bob). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-is-the-army-silent/689804.md?page=1)