U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, accused of deserting his post in Afghanistan back in 2009, would have been executed in the past for being a “no-good traitor,” says Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
Sgt. Bergdahl, who was subsequently captured by the Taliban for five years after leaving his pose in Afghanistan, would have been shot 30 years ago, said businessman Trump, according to The Associated Press (AP).
“We’re tired of Sgt. Bergdahl, who’s a traitor, a no-good traitor, who should have been executed,” Trump reportedly said to cheers.
“Thirty years ago, he would have been shot,” added Trump.
The businessman made those comments at an event at the Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas.
“It was practically an aside in a litany of complaints at the end of a more than hourlong, free-wheeling speech that included a large dose of media bashing and a claim that he was behind Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s decision to drop out of the race for House speaker,” noted AP.
President Obama exchanged Bergdahl for five senior Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’ investigative arm, has determined that the controversial prisoner swap broke a law that requires the White House to notify lawmakers before detainee transfers.
Trump has long been an opponent of President Obama’s prisoner exchange.
Sgt. Bergdahl has been officially charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The U.S. Army conducted a hearing on the matter last month.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, who led the investigation into Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s alleged desertion from his post in Afghanistan, has said he does not think the accused deserter will go to jail, adding that a prison sentence would be “inappropriate.”
Gen. Dahl made those comments while while testifying during an Army Article 32 hearing in September at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
His comments came after members of Bergdahl’s former unit called for serious punishment, claiming that some service members lost their lives while looking for the alleged deserter.
Gen. Dahl was addressing a packed room during the court proceedings at Fort Sam Houston aimed at determining if Bergdahl will face a court martial.
The general claimed that Bergdahl left his post in an effort to intentionally spark a search and win the attention of a his superiors so that he could expose problems within his unit.
Bergdahl believed the problems were so severe that they endangered his platoon, according to Dahl.
Nevertheless, the chief investigator noted that Bergdahl’s concerns were discovered to be unsubstantiated.
Sgt, Bergdahl, now 29 years-old, was captured by the Taliban after leaving his post and was held by the terrorist group for nearly five years, until President Obama approved his exchange for five Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo.
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