Patrick Sweeney/Reuters
A goodbye note from Bowe Bergdahl may darken his happy homecoming. According to a former senior military officer, when Bergdahl walked out of his remote Afghan outpost in 2009, he left behind a note explaining that he was leaving to start a new life. Bergdahl said in the letter he was disillusioned with the Army and wouldn’t support America’s war. On Tuesday, the Army announced it would pursue a "comprehensive" review of Bergdahl's disappearance, which could potentially lead to desertion charges. A team leader of Bergdahl's unit told CNN that radio monitoring after his disappearance picked up a message that an American was looking to speak with the Taliban. "There's a lot more to this story than a soldier walking away," former Army Sgt. Evan Buetow said.
Nathan Bradley Bethea, who served in the same battalion as Bergdahl, wrote in The Daily Beast that Bergdahl was a deserter who cost the lives of soldiers who died searching for him. Speaking during his trip to Europe, President Obama defended the decision to trade Bergdahl for five Taliban prisoners held at Gitmo, saying the U.S. was concerned about Bergdahl's health.