"It's called the rose garden effect"

"Army officer recommends US soldier Bowe Bergdahl be spared prison"

Defence lawyer Eugene Fidell said Lt. Col. Mark Visger has decided Bergdahl's case should go to a military system similar to civilian courts that handle misdemeanor charges. It limits the maximum punishment to reduction of rank, a bad conduct discharge and a short jail term, though that isn't being sought, Mr Fidell said.

Paul Boyce, a spokesman for the US Army's Force Command, released a statement Saturday that didn't confirm Visger's decision.

"As legal action is ongoing, we continue to maintain careful respect for the military-judicial process, the rights of the accused, and ensuring the case's fairness and impartiality," Boyce said.

Meanwhile Obama's new buddies in Iran say a verdict has been reached on a Washington Post reporter they accuse of spying.

An Iranian judiciary spokesman said Sunday that a verdict has been reached in the espionage case of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, though he offered no details and it was uncertain what the verdict is and whether there is a sentence.

“The ruling on this case has been issued,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said in a regularly scheduled televised news conference. “There is still the possibility of this ruling being appealed, and it is not final.”

Rezaian, The Post’s Tehran correspondent, has become a symbol of the lack of press freedom in Iran since he was arrested July 22, 2014. His closed-door trial on espionage and related charges ended two months ago, and the delay in a verdict has never been explained.

The Post has vehemently disputed the allegation that Rezaian was a spy.

"Bergdahl faces charges of desertion"

"Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was recovered in Afghanistan last spring after five years in captivity, faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, according to his lawyer."

"Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s attorney, told The Washington Post that his client was handed a charge sheet on Tuesday. Army officials announced they will provide an update in his case at 3:30 p.m. at Fort Bragg, N.C., but declined to discuss new developments ahead of the news conference."

The Bergdahl deal was worst than previously thought

"Carl Mueller told NBC in an interview that aired Monday that he and his wife thought they could win his daughter’s freedom with a $6.2 million ransom payment, although he acknowledged the Arizona family faced a daunting task in raising that much money. But when the White House agreed last year to trade Bergdahl, who had been held for five years by the Taliban and Haqqani network, the family believes the price for their daughter went up."

“That made the whole situation worse,” Kayla Mueller’s brother, Eric, told the network. “Because that's when the demands got greater. They got larger. They realized that they had something. They realized that, ‘Well, if they're gonna let five people go for one person, why won't they do this? Or why won't they do that?’” 

Kayla Mueller

Islamic State announced earlier this month that Mueller, who was taken hostage Aug. 4, 2013, had been killed by a Jordanian airstrike that was conducted as retaliation for the terror group’s savage murder of a Jordanian air force pilot. The Islamist group later provided the Muellers with undisclosed evidence that she was indeed dead.

Ralph Peters: Obama Admin "Pressuring The Army To Whitewash" Bergdahl Fiasco

"If you let Bergdahl walk -- it's not about this pathetic little creep, Bergdahl, it's about the principle -- if you let him walk with full pay and benefits and a promotion despite overwhelming evidence that he deserted his post in wartime, you make it virtually impossible to prosecute future deserters."

The Weekly Standard: The Taliban Five are even worse than you’ve heard

"One of the five senior Taliban leaders transferred to Qatar in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl played a key role in al Qaeda’s plans leading up to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mohammad Fazl, who served as the Taliban’s army chief of staff and deputy defense minister prior to his detention at Guantánamo, did not have a hand in planning the actual 9/11 hijackings. Along with a notorious al Qaeda leader, however, Fazl did help coordinate a military offensive against the enemies of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan the day before. And Osama bin Laden viewed that September 10 offensive as an essential part of al Qaeda’s 9/11 plot." (read more)

In some alternative universe (in a place far far away) there would be a mad dash of enterprising reporters staking out the homes and neighborhoods of 9/11/2001 survivors, seeking a comment, a reaction. Did you know the president swap included the release of people involved in the 9/11 attacks? ... while a camera rolls.

Thank goodness, however, in the real world we live in, decent enterprising reporters do not use surviving family victims that way... except maybe now and then, when... someone is telegenic enough and... they are physically in the right coast. You can't expect people in NY to make good compelling television. No offense Trooper.

No Sarcasm: Dianne Feinstein: No threat to Bergdahl

Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said she has not seen any evidence that the Taliban would have killed Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl if details of an agreement had leaked, contrary to what Obama administration officials have said.

When asked whether there was a “credible threat” on Bergdahl’s life if word had gotten out, the California Democrat responded: “No, I don’t think there was a credible threat, but I don’t know. I have no information that there was.” (read more)

Obama Bergdahl Tale of the Tape

Washington Times: Pentagon knew Bergdahl’s whereabouts but didn’t risk rescue for ‘deserter’

The Pentagon on several occasions had ground-level intelligence on where ArmySgt. Bowe Bergdahl was being held captive at various times — down to how many gunmen were guarding him — but special operations commanders repeatedly shelved rescue missions because they didn’t want to risk casualties for a man they believed to be a “deserter,” sources familiar with the mission plans said.

Commanders on the ground debated whether to pull the trigger on a rescue several times in recent years, according to one of the sources, a former high-level intelligence official in Afghanistan, who said the conclusion each time was that the prospect of losing highly trained troops was too high a price to pay for rescuing a soldier who walked away from his unit before being captured by the enemy. (read more)

Starting to look like we traded 5 Taliban fighters for 1 Taliban fighter. http://t.co/a5Mp9hysxl
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) June 2, 2014