you've been pushing the point for a week that deserting should imply the guy shouldn't be "rescued". it's getting annoying. she's been diplomatic in her response, as is her job, but let me break it down for you...
an institution such as the us army cannot allow any deserters to go unpunished for any reason under any circumstance. it must push down the message - loud and clear - that what will happen if you get caught will be so severe that you don't want to even think about it.
the army is not a democratic institution, and it can't be in order to maintain an empire like america's. it must be a ruthless, top down structure that makes dramatic public examples of people that break ranks. and, it must jump through every hoop possible to punish those people in as violent a way as they possibly can be punished.
so, deserting is not a reason to leave him there. deserting is a reason to bring him back, so his peers can see what happens if they get the same ideas in their heads.