Log in

View Full Version : U.S. soldier captured by Taliban: 'I'm afraid'



Cruelbreed
07-19-2009, 04:12 PM
U.S. soldier captured by Taliban: 'I'm afraid'

Story Highlights
Soldier from Idaho says he's frightened he won't be able to see family again
U.S. military: Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, was captured June 30 from Paktika province
Taliban commander: Taliban will kill him if foreign troops keep targeting civilians
He was taken by members of the Taliban, the military says
(CNN) -- A United States soldier captured by the Taliban says in a video posted on the Internet he is "scared I won't be able to go home."

The soldier was identified Sunday by the Pentagon as Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho. He was captured June 30 from Paktika province in southeastern Afghanistan.

The Taliban has threatened to kill Bergdahl if foreign troops continue targeting civilians in the name of search operations in Ghazni and Paktika province, Taliban commander Mulvi Sangeen said by telephone Friday after being contacted by CNN at an undisclosed location.

NATO-led forces in Afghanistan and the U.S. military have repeatedly denied targeting civilians.

In the 28-minute video, Bergdahl becomes emotional when he speaks of his family -- his parents, siblings, nieces and nephew -- and the girlfriend he hopes to marry.

"I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America, and I miss them every day that I'm gone," he says. "I miss them and I'm afraid I might never see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them I love them again. I'll never be able to hug them."

He adds that he is "scared. I'm scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner." However, he says his captors are treating him "like a guest."

It was not clear whether some or all of Bergdahl's remarks were scripted by his captors. Watch excerpt from the video ยป

The last few minutes of the video show him eating a meal.

In a statement released Sunday through the Idaho National Guard, Bergdahl's family said, "We hope and pray for our son's safe return to his comrades and then to our family, and we appreciate all the support and expressions of sympathy shown to us by our family members, our friends and others across the nation. Thank you, and please continue to keep Bowe in your thoughts and prayers."

Asked by his captors if he had any message for Americans, the soldier says, "To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it's like to miss them, you have the power to make our government bring them home. Please, please bring us home so we can be back where we belong and not over here."

The Taliban earlier claimed responsibility for Bergdahl's kidnapping, the military said. Last week, the U.S. military distributed pamphlets in eastern Afghanistan in an effort to locate him.

"As you can see, the American soldier is in good shape and good health, and he is being treated well based on the guidelines of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan regarding war prisoners," said a statement on Islamist Web sites accompanying the video. "Any decision regarding the American soldier will be the specialty of the high order of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, may God protect him."

The U.S. military said it believed Bergdahl may have been moved to various locations. In the video, Bergdahl's captor makes reference to his being moved from Paktika to Khandahar. He acknowledges it, saying the move was accomplished "very easily." The claim could not be independently verified. Asked the date by his captor, Bergdahl says it is July 14.

Two versions of the pamphlets were distributed in Afghanistan, written in the Pashto language. They were made available to CNN by U.S. Forces Afghanistan.

One shows the image of an American soldier shaking hands in a group of kids with the message, "One of our American guests is missing. Return the guest to his home. Call us at" -- and lists a phone number.

The other shows a U.S. soldier kicking down a door, and then an outstretched hand with the superimposed image of a soldier, his head and arms drooping, and the words, "If you do not release the U.S. soldier then ... you will be hunted," the pamphlet says.

Days after Bergdahl went missing, a senior U.S. military official said Bergdahl and the Afghan soldiers were captured by low-level militants and then quickly "sold" to the clan and network led by warlord Siraj Haqqani -- believed to be deeply involved in the action.

The Haqqani clan operates on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border and is well known to the U.S. military.

Bergdahl apparently left his small outpost on his own on June 30 with no apparent means of defending himself, the official said. Taliban commander Mulvi Sangeen said he visited a military post in the Yousaf Khel district in the Paktika province, got drunk, and was ambushed while returning to his car.

Sangeen said the soldier was taken to a safe place. CNN could not independently verify Sangeen's claims.

A source with the U.S. military denied the claim that Bergdahl was drunk. "The Taliban are known for lying and what they are claiming (is) not true," the source said.

In the video, Bergdahl says he was captured as he was lagging behind a patrol.

Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall told CNN Sunday, "Right now, the news is still breaking through town, and as the mayor, I can say this is a community situation."

But, he said, "I trust the leadership of this country, the wisdom of the people who are serving and the decisions that led up to the situation."

Bergdahl is not a National Guardsman, according to the Idaho National Guard statement, but the organization said it was coordinating with the Department of Defense to provide public affairs duties and other assistance to the Bergdahl family. The family has requested privacy, the statement said.

Cruelbreed
07-19-2009, 04:29 PM
ly 19, 2009
U.S. Condemns Video of Captured G.I.

By REUTERS
Filed at 3:51 p.m. ET

KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military denounced on Sunday the release of a video showing a soldier captured in Afghanistan, describing the images as Taliban propaganda that violated international law.

The video shows Private Bowe Bergdahl in traditional Afghan dress, being prompted in English by his captors to call for U.S. forces to be withdrawn from Afghanistan.

The U.S. military confirmed the identity of the Ketchum, Idaho native, saying he served with the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. His identifying dog tags are displayed to the camera by his captors in the video.

"We condemn the use of this video and the public humiliation of prisoners. It is against international law," U.S. military spokesman Colonel Greg Julian said. "We are doing everything we can to return this soldier to safety."

The U.S. military has been distributing leaflets this week seeking the release of Bergdahl, missing since late June.

Military spokeswoman Captain Elizabeth Matthias said it was the first case she was aware of in which a U.S. service member was held captive by the enemy in Afghanistan, although there have been similar cases in Iraq.

In the video, portions of which were posted on the internet video sharing site YouTube (http://www.YouTube.com), Bergdahl appeared with his head shaven and a slight beard, wearing traditional grey, loose-fitting Afghan shalwar kameez clothing.

He appears to be in good health and is shown drinking tea and eating bread and rice.

"I am scared. I'm scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner," he says. "I have my girlfriend who is hoping to marry. I have my grandma and grandpas. I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America."
A voice off camera prompts: "Miss them."

The soldier continues: "And I miss them every day that I'm gone. I miss them and I'm afraid that I might never see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again. I'll never be able to hug them."

"BRING US HOME"

Later, the voice prompts: "Any message to your people?"

"Yes. To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it's like to miss them: you have the power to make our government bring them home," Bergdahl says.

Military spokesman Julian said Washington would not give in to the captors' demands: "Basically they would like us to go home. That is just simply not going to happen. We are here to support the Afghan government to improve security and we will stay as long as the Afghan people want us here."

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman reached by telephone at an undisclosed location, gave Reuters the address of another file sharing website displaying the video. He said the footage was proof of the captive's health.

"He is fine and healthy as you saw in the video tape. We will decide in future as to what needs to be done with him."

Mawlavi Sangin, a senior Taliban commander in Paktika province, the southeastern area where the soldier went missing, told Reuters on Thursday his men were holding the soldier and would kill him if the military applied pressure to find him.

Cases of U.S. troops going missing have been rare during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Iraq, three soldiers were captured by insurgents after a firefight in 2007 in an area south of Baghdad known as the triangle of death. One was killed shortly after his capture, while the other two were found dead nearly two months later.

In 2005, Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell was rescued after being cared for by Afghan villagers for five days. He was the only survivor of an ambushed four-man patrol. Sixteen special forces troops died when their helicopter was shot down in a failed initial rescue bid, the war's deadliest incident for U.S. troops.

(Additional reporting by Jonathon Burch in KABUL and Andrew Hammond in DUBAI; Editing by Paul Tait)
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/07/19/world/news-us-afghanistan-usa-soldier.html?ref=asia

windexglow
07-19-2009, 05:49 PM
Sad, but I am curious as to how the major US media is playing this out.

Are they ignoring it? Blaming the other political party for this happening? Agreeing to everything he says in the video?

Cruelbreed
07-19-2009, 11:13 PM
Well I read some of the comments over on a post on the frontpage. I heard one media outlet was actually saying he might have deserted, but who knows really. Click the link on the video and you can read the shit storm.

Apache Clips - Captured U.S. Soldier By Taliban

windexglow
07-20-2009, 01:17 PM
At least one station is having fun with this story I'm afraid.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=428_1248047910

cormack
07-24-2009, 05:17 AM
isnt there any recent info on this as im very interested ?

ghost
07-24-2009, 08:45 AM
Sad, but I am curious as to how the major US media is playing this out.

Are they ignoring it? Blaming the other political party for this happening? Agreeing to everything he says in the video?


Fuck the media. They don't know shit. There's a difference between news and spin. They don't seem to understand the difference.

scoutsout80
07-24-2009, 09:16 AM
The guy was AWOL in a combat zone, Article 86, UCMJ.

Stark
07-24-2009, 10:01 AM
isnt there any recent info on this as im very interested ?


Trust me I keep looking all over the place

scoutsout80
07-24-2009, 10:36 AM
http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2009/07/video-sequel-oreilly-and-peters-call.html