LT. COL. RALPH PETERS: What we have here is very, very clear, it's damnably clear that the White House which doesn't understand why this is a big deal. I mean, he just deserted, right? Wouldn't anybody do that? And they just want to protect the president. And they are pressuring the Army, pressuring the Army to whitewash this. And they don't understand that for the military, those who went before, retirees like me, those on active duty, this is a powerful matter, as you heard from the young soldier, of precedent and principle.



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. Now, in the Army, I'm sure -- the Army's not perfect. You've got some people craven enough and ambitious enough to save to the White House, and I'm sure they are arguing the White House's point, but so far you've got some generals that are showing backbone and saying, no, for the good of the Army, for the good of the military, he has to go through the Article 32 and into court-martial. And the White House is fighting it tooth and nail because they don't give a damn about our military, they just care about this pathetic puss in boots president's reputation.