It does matter that we gave up five Taliban commanders for him, if you're interested in winning the war. The president should have weighed the costs and benefi

It does matter that we gave up five Taliban commanders for him, if you're interested in winning the war. The president should have weighed the costs and benefits -- among the costs could be this wacky idea that soldiers will abandon unpopular soldiers and call it desertion if Bowe weren't brought home (seriously, why this convoluted hypothetical? Such a conspiracy, if it were to happen, would hopefully be reported and punished). Soldiers morale is also hurt when a deserter is given high honors from a disinterested and cynical administration. You seem to think that "macro-level political thing" (a concept I'm perfectly capable of understanding, even if I'm a dumb vet) is an excuse for bad decisions -- or maybe you're so cynical that you don't think it's worth caring about. I disagree.