Well, aside from potential career ramifications, I also feel like going on TV like that would basically be more feeding into my vanity than trying to help Bales.
It must be hard for presidential candidates. I have the luxury of saying “I don’t know” or “that’s above my pay grade” whereas a competent presidential candidate can’t possibly get away with that (see what I did there?). Plus, I haven’t exactly been hit with “gotcha” questions like they have to deal with.
I’ve little doubt that the defense will call me out. Should be interesting.
We've already seen on Free Republic how Cain got blasted for giving essentially that answer, which was probably a perfectly honest and forthright answer, to questions about things he didn't know about. When you're running for president, if you don't know the answer to something you're accused of being ignorant; if you give an unwise answer based on incomplete information, you're accused of even worse things.
I'm guessing you've got more than a passing familiarity with courts-martial. I've covered enough of them in both the Air Force and the Army to believe the military judicial system is significantly better than its civilian equivalent. The difference won't be as great with a high-profile case, but it is dramatic with lesser cases where, unlike military JAG personnel who have adequate time to prosecute and defend, the overworked civilian prosecutors cut deals because they don't have time to deal with the cases and defendants either rely on overworked public defenders or pay for the best justice they can afford through getting their own private defense attorney.
Whatever happens to SSG Bales, he'll be treated fairly by the military court martial system — severely, but fairly.
I can't consistently say that about civilian courts. I firmly believe in the American judicial system, but crime has greatly outstripped the willingness of taxpayers to pay for police, courts, jails, and other things which are necessary to have a well-ordered society. So much tax money is being wasted at the federal level on worthless social programs that voters don't get to approve by referendum that local tax issues, which typically **DO** have to go on the ballot, get defeated regularly, thereby forcing local governments to rely more and more on federal aid.