U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009 — there isn’t much doubt about that. But the charge of desertion isn’t the reason he faces life imprisonment in his court-martial. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the maximum punishment for desertion is five years. The potential life sentence comes from a now-obscure charge with origins in the articles of war enacted by the Continental Congress on Sept. 20, 1776: misbehavior before the enemy/Noah Feldman, Bloomberg View. More here.